DVC for solo or couple

[Star3]

I’m considering DVC but wanted to get the opinion of others. Do you think DVC is worth it for a solo traveler or a couple who want to do WDW for 2 weeks every 3 years? I hear most people saying they go every one or 2 years.

Would love to hear what you all think. I’m still doing my research so any pros or cons are welcome.

 

[Royal Consort]

Every three years gets a bit tough but it's possible. Going every two years is recommended as you are either banking or borrowing points rather than doing both.

Is it worth it for a solo traveller? Only you can answer that. If you expect you'll be returning to WDW indefinitely anyway, probably. The caveat is: do you book deluxe resorts when you go? If yes then DVC may be worth exploring. If you stay value or moderate, then DVC is unlikely to be beneficial. The resale DVC market is going to be the best option as contracts are far cheaper than buying direct from Disney. Buying direct from Disney requires you buy 150 points minimum which sounds larger than what you'd require if you wanted to bank and borrow to visit every three years.

If looking on the resale market, be mindful that some resorts expire much earlier than others. For example Boardwalk, Beach Club, Old Key West, Boulder Ridge expire in 2042.

DVC doesn't save me money. I spend more money at Disney because of DVC. I go more often and for longer. However, it's allowed me to have frequent great holidays in deluxe resorts which I probably wouldn't have done.

Do lots of research. Read the forums and watch the videos. For many they prefer to rent points than buy. This is a long haul purchase. It took me 10 years to feel comfortable purchasing DVC (should have pulled the trigger back then) but now I own 5 contracts at 3 resorts. I am comfortable because I know the product backwards.

 

[Star3]

Thank you I’m still doing my research and it’s good to hear what others think.

 

[zavandor]

I often travel solo but occasionally invite friends. It's been great for me for the same reasons as Royal Consort. I would never ever pay Disney rack rates for deluxe hotels, but with DVC I upgrade my trips to fantastic resorts.
Every three years is doable, but it has two problems:
1) its easy to lose spare points. Let's say you buy 100 points, so you have 300 points every three years. But it's nearly impossible to book a vacation for exactly 300 points. So if you just need 290, what will you do with the remaining 10? Even f you don't borrow and bank them, they'd be expired by the time you take the next holiday. You can rent or transfer them, but it's not easy and quite the effort for a small gain
2) If you need to cancel, then you'd be at greater risk of losing the points, because banked and borrowed points cannot be banked again or put back in their UY. You can rent them to recoup some money, but then you wouldn't have them for your next trip

So every three years is doable, but it's a bit more risky than every other year.

 

[fitnessmouse]

Also, as we have seen, banking and/or borrowing can be suspended or altered

 

[Ruttangel]

I know it's boring but worth doing some maths.
One thing I didn't factor in when buying was massive fluctuations in exchange rate. Rate was up to 2:1 a long time ago, then seemed to be stuck about 1.6:1, now it's low at 1.2:1 (pretty bad time to buy atm)

Where/when/what room do you want to stay?
Let's say early July in standard view studio.
Animal Kingdom Lodge 200pts
Polynesian 292pts

That means about 100pts is needed as long as banking and borrowing remain at 100%
New DVC buyers have to get a minimum of 150pts from Disney or what I would recommend is you can get 100pts on the resale market. Blended average of all resorts is about $135 so it will cost about £10-12k depending on resort, whether you are paying this years dues and legal closing costs.
Don't buy a 2042 expiry resort as they will drop in value in next 5 years.

As mentioned above a 3 year gap is going to mean some risk of losing points or having to buy some One Time Use points to match a reservation.
If you don't want hassle of owning you could just rent.

After 10 years you could well be able to sell your contract at a price which means you paid nothing for 10 years of vacation although it's not guaranteed and market is overrun with sellers atm.

 

[Pek Chee Kian]

It is a lot safer to do every other year than every 3 years. I will buy 100 points and borrow points every time to make reservation instead of banking. This is to avoid any risk of unused points which will expired by end of used year. Let say you are going next year (2024) and the reservation requires 190 points. I will use 100 and 90 points for 2024 and 2025 (borrowed) respectively to make the booking. The balance 10 points for 2025 will be banked into 2026. Hence in 2026, I will have 110 points + 100 points (borrowed from 2027) = 210 points to make another trip. So your DVC trips will be in 2024 and 2026 which is every 2 years.