DVC Direct from Disney or Re-Sale and Renting?

[Fathawkeye]

Hello, I have scoured the pages and couldn't quite find out an answer to my questions. I believe I have stumbled on bits and pieces - but nothing laid out nice and neatly just yet. I hope one of you would be so graceful and be able to help me with a few questions. Thank you in advance.

I have 2 Disney vacations on the horizon - after looking at cost I am wondering if I should just bite the bullet and buy a DVC and get it over with.

Question 1:
I was looking to rent some points for a 5 day stay before a cruise in Feb 2017. If I rent points from a DVC member - what perks am I entitled to and perks I will be missing out on? Thinking of staying at Poly.

eg) DVC Pool, lounges, etc

Question 2: What are the benefits of buying a DVC direct from Disney? Is is worth it?

RCI - I know of - anything else worth noting?

Question 3: What benefits would I be missing out on buying Re-Sale?

No RCI - thats ok - What else am I missing out on?

I have no specific property in mind. I know of the 11 month rule - but is it really that big of a deal? I usually only travel during off peak times.

Question 4: What are thoughts on buying points from the cheaper properties then using them for stays at GF, Aulani, Bay Lake, etc?


Thank you for your time.

 

[disneynutz]

If buying the less expensive resort netted favorable results at 7 months then there would be zero reason to buy the expensive ones.

Bill

 

[Meandnevaeh]

Resale can exchange into RCI, resale con not use points to book cruises, can not use points for the Disney collection(i.e. Non DVC resorts at Disney Workd) and can not do the concierge collection either. Resale purchases after 4/4/2016 will not be entitled to discounts or other perks that are sometimes offered to DVC members(like discounted annual passes or tickets), or the DVC lounge at Epcot. Not really a loss of that much savings for most people.

As far as using pools goes, hopping is up in the air, but any one staying DVC, renting, or using your own points-direct or resale, may use the pools at the resort you are staying at.

The TOWL at BLT is not for renters, may be used by a DVC member staying on property( I am not 100% sure on all the details with this one though

 

[Sammie]

First off, renting: You get no DVC perks. You get everything at the resort that a cash guest gets.

As to what you get buying direct over resale. As of March 2011 members who purchase resale will not be eligible to use their DVC points to make reservations in the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection or the Adventurer Collection. Also Disney cruise line.

As of April 4, 2016, owners who purchase from anyone other than Disney will not have access to DVC incidental benefits (also known as Membership Extras) such as Member discounts on dining, shopping, Member-exclusive events, and certain special Member offers.

As to what you gain in resale, is savings.

As to buying at the resorts that are less expensive, that depends. What do you consider off season? DVC off season and parks off season is not the same thing. As to booking, if you are always going to have to book at 7 months due to work, etc. then it truly makes sense to buy the least expensive.

If you are happy to stay anywhere, you will have success at 7 months. If you want to stay at a certain resort, at a certain time, in a certain room category, 11 months is important.

 

[suebeelin]

Hello, I have scoured the pages and couldn't quite find out an answer to my questions. I believe I have stumbled on bits and pieces - but nothing laid out nice and neatly just yet. I hope one of you would be so graceful and be able to help me with a few questions. Thank you in advance.

I have 2 Disney vacations on the horizon - after looking at cost I am wondering if I should just bite the bullet and buy a DVC and get it over with.

Question 1:
I was looking to rent some points for a 5 day stay before a cruise in Feb 2017. If I rent points from a DVC member - what perks am I entitled to and perks I will be missing out on? Thinking of staying at Poly.

******You'll be the same as a cash guest. No discounts on merchandise or food, no access to totwl, pool hopping, the Epcot dvc lounge. No AP discount or TIW discount.

Poly may or may not be hard to get right now. Feb 2017 is likely not the toughest time to get into most dvc properties, and poly is not difficult yet most times at the 7mo mark. You can take your chances and reserve at the 7mo mark.*****

eg) DVC Pool, lounges, etc

Question 2: What are the benefits of buying a DVC direct from Disney? Is is worth it?

RCI - I know of - anything else worth noting?

******I personally do not think buying direct is worth it. You lose the ability to trade your points into cruises, adventures by, and concierge collection (not really a good use of points anyway). Also, as of recently, no dvc "perks" such as merchandise and restaurant discount, AP or TIW discount.****

Question 3: What benefits would I be missing out on buying Re-Sale?

No RCI - thats ok - What else am I missing out on?

I have no specific property in mind. I know of the 11 month rule - but is it really that big of a deal? I usually only travel during off peak times.

*****You CAN trade into Rci with resale points. Personally, I wouldn't do it bc dvc properties have the most value IMO.

Peak times for dvc is btwn September and mid January. If you are traveling during that time, and prefer certain resorts (near park), you'll have a difficult but not impossible time getting another resort at the 7mo mark.****

Question 4: What are thoughts on buying points from the cheaper properties then using them for stays at GF, Aulani, Bay Lake, etc?

***See above regarding peak times. Certain room types are difficult even for an owner on the 11mo mark, such as GFV studios, bwv std studios, bcv and AKL concierge level. If you're flexible and don't mind taking your chances at the 7mo mark, then a cheaper property, so long as you don't mind staying there, is fine. ****


Thank you for your time.

My opinions are within the quote above. Hope it helps!

 

[Dean]

Hello, I have scoured the pages and couldn't quite find out an answer to my questions. I believe I have stumbled on bits and pieces - but nothing laid out nice and neatly just yet. I hope one of you would be so graceful and be able to help me with a few questions. Thank you in advance.

I have 2 Disney vacations on the horizon - after looking at cost I am wondering if I should just bite the bullet and buy a DVC and get it over with.

Question 1:
I was looking to rent some points for a 5 day stay before a cruise in Feb 2017. If I rent points from a DVC member - what perks am I entitled to and perks I will be missing out on? Thinking of staying at Poly.

eg) DVC Pool, lounges, etc

Question 2: What are the benefits of buying a DVC direct from Disney? Is is worth it?

RCI - I know of - anything else worth noting?

Question 3: What benefits would I be missing out on buying Re-Sale?

No RCI - thats ok - What else am I missing out on?

I have no specific property in mind. I know of the 11 month rule - but is it really that big of a deal? I usually only travel during off peak times.

Question 4: What are thoughts on buying points from the cheaper properties then using them for stays at GF, Aulani, Bay Lake, etc?


Thank you for your time.

As noted, RCI and BVTC are currently ncluded with all restricted resale contracts. There are no situations where buying to use points for a cruise is a good idea and essentially none where renting points for a cruise is a good choice. From a $$ standpoint one would be better of renting for DVC trips upcoming and buying resale if that's the choice, esp since it takes TIME to investigate DVC, generally a good 6 months of active investigation. Now if one is well versed in DVC, going to buy anyway and judge retail to be the best in their situation; buying retail could be appropriate. But not for a cruise and not to rush just to save money on an upcoming trip or two. In general I think it's best to underbuy in both # of points and resort as long as one is getting a full sized contract and can live with the limitations of a lower property. Of course any discussion of using points for DVC assumes one is booking at a full 7 months out and in some cases, day one 11 months out. Aulani shouldn't be too difficult if it's not Easter or weeks 51-52. BLT will be doable most time but not standard view. VGF will be difficult but if one is diligent they should be able to get something there at times but again likely not standard view. The best value currently for WDW is SSR and one should be able to get most options over time with effort and using the wait list other than AKV concierge/AKV value, VGF standard, BWV standard, BLT standard and VGF standard. 1 BR are much easier to get than studios if that matters. That's not to say one would never get those but the likelihood is so low as to not be worth considering. Just spend enough time so you understand the system and get past the excitement and emotions and you should be able to make an informed decisions of whether DCV is right for you and what the best choice is. Some will tell you to buy multiple smaller contracts if you buy in. I'd suggest that's good in theory but rarely good in practice but won't discuss further unless you need the info.

 

[CarolMN]

You'll want to check out these two threads regarding availability at 7 months:

drusba's post (#3) & crisis's post (#4) in this thread:
Any resource to see historical availability for days 7/11 months out

drusba's post (#12) in this thread:
Easiest 7 month reservations

skier_pete's thread:
Predicted DVC booking patterns - Studios/ some 1-bedrooms (VGC Update 10/21/15)

Good luck with your research!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FWIW, right now amongst the DVC properties there is only one "DVC pool" that only persons at the DVC property can use, and that is the Bay Lake Tower pool. All other DVC resort pools are open to any guest of that resort as a whole, including the Oasis Pool at the Poly. We have no present reason to believe the new pool at WLV2, when built, will be restricted based on past precedent (and, realistically, how that resort is laid out).

DVC owners can pool hop within defined boundaries (no Poly, AKV, Stormalong Bay, or Big Blue Pool, maybe one or two others I'm forgetting before my next coffee), but this is a benefit I don't know that a lot of people even use, let alone would argue is worth the cost differential of direct v. resale.

 

[ldo]

If you are fairly committed to going to WDW at least EOY for the next 5 years, I would buy a resale contract that is enough points with banking and borrowing to fit your needs. That is what we did and it worked well. It was cheaper in the long run than continually renting, esp. if you can get a loaded contract. I also liked being able to control my reservation and canx or change dates, etc. as much as I wanted. It is $$ to buy Poly. We were looking for biggest bang for our buck at a resort that we liked, so we bought AKV.
OTOH, if you are committed to a specific date, such as before your cruise, and you are getting trip ins. anyway, which might also cover the DVC rental, then renting for that trip will be more per point than annual fees, but will require no capital outlay. I also own a few other timeshares. I can tell you that DVC held its value much better than those and is (and for the past 10 years) fairly easy to resell at a decent price if you decide you no longer need it.
Don't buy to trade with RCI (which resales can still do). I would rent out my points before I traded via RCI. Within a minimum purchase of above, I doubt you'll ever need to trade via RCI. Also, owning DVC allows you to get a points transfer (which you then "own" and control the reservation) for times that you need more points.

 

[Fathawkeye]

WOW - I applaud you all - you know your DVC!! I love this board.
So the next question I have is: Is there really any advantage of buying a small 25-50 point contract direct from Disney and buying the remaining points on the resale?

The only reason I am thinking of doing this is: I always fly down a few days before my cruises and my family loves the parks - however me not so much. But, if I rent points I am due to lay out $1500 for 4 days of renting points. Then I plan on going to Hawaii in the next couple years that would be $2000 outlaid (or more) for a week at Aulani - and if I keep this up... for the next 50 years... I'm better off buying now. Not to mention I can just sell the points over the of the whole contract and make my money back and then some.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Be sure to account for annual maintenance fees when thinking about the cost. DVC is not a one-time outlay. It has significant annual costs for the life of the contract.

 

[disneynutz]

IMO you want to decide if you will keep your current vacation pattern, will cruising stay at the top of your list or will you buy an RV? We love WDW, have been going for years every few years. We bought DVC and started going 3 times per year, decided that our first resort was nice but we wanted more and we bought another resort to get the 11 month booking advantage. Well fast forward and we now own 6 resorts, have experienced all of the DVC pluses and minuses, have been on every ride and attraction several times, have seen behind the curtains, and we have changed.

Park time is if we feel like it, sometimes once or twice during a 10 night stay, our favorite resorts has changed, we now prefer 3 of our purchased 6 and one of our favorites, WL/VWL is being gutted by Disney to add water front cabins.

You can always buy more contracts or sell some if things change, learn as much as you can, spend hours reading the purchase threads and decide what's right for you and your family.

Bill

 

[Dean]

.. I'm better off buying now. Not to mention I can just sell the points over the of the whole contract and make my money back and then some.

Not necessarily. If you make a bad choice now it'll be far more costly than the difference between the dues and the rental price. And if you buy retail to get it done, that's far more costly. In the short term it's worth the patience but IF DVC makes sense for you in general, long term you'd want to proceed along an appropriate course to buy.

 

[Fathawkeye]

--I answered my own question here --

 

[CarolynFH]

Disney has access to a different inventory of rooms from the DVC members at each resort. IIRC they retain 2% of the rooms for cash reservations, and those rooms are not available for DVC members to book with points. Also, if at 60 days a given DVC room type is not completely reserved, those rooms are turned over to Disney for cash reservations.

When considering Vero or any other resort, look at the annual membership fees as well. Over the course of membership the MFs can add up to more than the initial buy-in cost. There are folks on this board who analyze these things, and i think the consensus is that the least expensive combination of buy-in cost and MFs is SSR with BLT coming close behind, if you want to buy with intent to reserve at 7 months rather than 11.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney has access to a different inventory of rooms from the DVC members at each resort. IIRC they retain 2% of the rooms for cash reservations, and those rooms are not available for DVC members to book with points. Also, if at 60 days a given DVC room type is not completely reserved, those rooms are turned over to Disney for cash reservations.

When considering Vero or any other resort, look at the annual membership fees as well. Over the course of membership the MFs can add up to more than the initial buy-in cost. There are folks on this board who analyze these things, and i think the consensus is that the least expensive combination of buy-in cost and MFs is SSR with BLT coming close behind, if you want to buy with intent to reserve at 7 months rather than 11.

With an added caveat that BLT points rent at a higher rate than SSR points, if that is a consideration.