DVC News-Jan 2026

[airjay75]

If they really want to move forward with a tear down and addition of Caribbean beach to RIV, does it matter if it’s completely sold out? Just rent out the extra points they are holding onto until RIV2.0 goes on sale?

I like this idea. The only complicating factor is that it would have to be up and running by 2030 to add to the existing RIV association. That timeline seems . . . aggressive. Of course, they could still do it and just make it a different association and/or a new RTU in the trust. They may well prefer it to be part of the trust anyways.

 

[BeachClub2014]

If they really want to move forward with a tear down and addition of Caribbean beach to RIV, does it matter if it’s completely sold out? Just rent out the extra points they are holding onto until RIV2.0 goes on sale?

Does it matter? Nope, not really. I tend to agree with you, as I see DVC continuing to follow the same pathway with Riv as they have in the past, as long as room cash sales remain strong.

If, and I think it's a big "IF," they take more of Caribbean Beach offline for conversion to DVC, I bet it would be for a totally new resort after LSL. I don't think they'll add to Riv or make a Riv 2.0

 

[tidefan]

I like this idea. The only complicating factor is that it would have to be up and running by 2030 to add to the existing RIV association. That timeline seems . . . aggressive. Of course, they could still do it and just make it a different association and/or a new RTU in the trust. They may well prefer it to be part of the trust anyways.

Imagine the uproar from RIV owners if they added some CBR buildings to the existing association. What if they just took the existing buildings and converted them all to 2/3 bedroom "Mediterranean Villas" with insane point costs? Then they sold all of those points to folks promising them 11-month access to all of those standard view villas in the original building! I'd love to see the competition then at 11 months for those standard view studios...

Think it can't happen??? It already has. This is essentially what they did at VGF to the VGF1 owners...

 

[Dodgerburt8]

Setting aside the debate on whether resale restrictions affect sales, I think it will be interesting to see what they do with RIV and PIT as the opening of LSL approaches.

Let's say sales of LSL begin in December 2026 with an opening in February 2027. I think they have a few options.

1. Do nothing. Just continue pricing RIV/PIT the way they are, and let all 3 be in active sales for most of 2027. Maybe if they combine CFW with LSL, they're actually ok with this. I tend to be skeptical they want that many resorts on sale at the same time, but maybe they don't really care.

2. Significant sales incentives on RIV and/or PIT. I sort of think they won't do that on PIT because, why offer a greater discount when you don't have to. RIV seems the more likely choice - seems to me a good extra $10-$20/point in addition to incentives they currently offer would probably get those points moving pretty fast.

3. Declare "sold out" before you get to 98% of points sold. I could see this making a lot of sense on RIV. You sell 90% of the points, declare it sold out and raise the price to $255-$265/point. Now, if you're a RIV owner, and you find yourself in need of more points, you have two options. Buy restricted resale, or cough up some extra money at the "sold out" price for unrestricted points. Maybe you occasionally run a "flash sale."

I think my money is currently on a combination of 2 and 3. Some pretty decent sales incentives on RIV as the opening date of LSL firms up to clear out some points, but Disney holding on to a good deal more than the required 2% of points and declaring it sold out before LSL goes on sale.

Yes I agree. A final sales push coupled with holding back maybe 5 percent instead of 2.

 

[airjay75]

Imagine the uproar from RIV owners if they added some CBR buildings to the existing association. What if they just took the existing buildings and converted them all to 2/3 bedroom "Mediterranean Villas" with insane point costs? Then they sold all of those points to folks promising them 11-month access to all of those standard view villas in the original building! I'd love to see the competition then at 11 months for those standard view studios...

Think it can't happen??? It already has. This is essentially what they did at VGF to the VGF1 owners...

I think the major reason I have a hard time seeing that happen is that it would need to be done by 2030. With LSL not opening until 2027, and it likely having as many points as it will to sell, I just don’t see the reason to rush a RIV add-on.

Tearing down Aruba to add a brand new DVC resort with an opening date in 2032 or 2033 (whenever they think LSL is going to sell out)? That seems much more likely to me.

But, maybe with all the planned MK expansions, they’ll think they need another MK area resort before they need more Epcot/HS area rooms.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Isn't most of this though? You're just lighting more of it on fire with VB and HHI...

I just looked at the delta between direct and resale and it’s about $100pp for those two…. I guess I’m glad to see that VB and HHI have a lot lower direct base price than BCV and BWV…. so the spreads really aren’t that different.

 

[Brian Noble]

Tearing down Aruba

I think this is unlikely. With the Skyliner plus the reduced capacity CBR now has sufficient demand relative to supply to justify the highest room rates among the Mods.

Historically, the reason DVC has converted cash rooms to DVC (either by bulldozing and rebuilding or straight conversion) is usually because they have trouble filling those cash rooms at the rates they are hoping.

I think GFV 2.0 might be an exception, but I suspect that was an emergency flip that came up because the pandemic lockdown delayed Lakeshore to a later point in the inventory pipeline and they needed the inventory to keep up with sales demand.

 

[airjay75]

I think this is unlikely. With the Skyliner plus the reduced capacity CBR now has sufficient demand relative to supply to justify the highest room rates among the Mods.

Historically, the reason DVC has converted cash rooms to DVC (either by bulldozing and rebuilding or straight conversion) is usually because they have trouble filling those cash rooms at the rates they are hoping.

I think GFV 2.0 might be an exception, but I suspect that was an emergency flip that came up because the pandemic lockdown delayed Lakeshore to a later point in the inventory pipeline and they needed the inventory to keep up with sales demand.

That makes even more sense to me.

 

[Brian Noble]

That doesn't mean DVC won't figure out a way to expand the RIV Association, but it probalby won't be at the expense of CBR inventory.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I think this is unlikely. With the Skyliner plus the reduced capacity CBR now has sufficient demand relative to supply to justify the highest room rates among the Mods.

Historically, the reason DVC has converted cash rooms to DVC (either by bulldozing and rebuilding or straight conversion) is usually because they have trouble filling those cash rooms at the rates they are hoping.

I think GFV 2.0 might be an exception, but I suspect that was an emergency flip that came up because the pandemic lockdown delayed Lakeshore to a later point in the inventory pipeline and they needed the inventory to keep up with sales demand.

I read Disney couldn’t fill the room and that the Grand Floridian has started to put rooms on Groupon…..

 

[disneylandtour]

I feel these numbers suggest a fire sale on RIV later in 2026 (maybe summer) before LSL begins sales.

 

[disneylandtour]

I think GFV 2.0 might be an exception, but I suspect that was an emergency flip that came up because the pandemic lockdown delayed Lakeshore to a later point in the inventory pipeline and they needed the inventory to keep up with sales demand.

Unless I'm remembering this incorrectly, didn't RIV open about three months before the pandemic. DVC was very flush with inventory moving into and out of the pandemic? And during the pandemic, Poly Tower was designed (the luau closed in 2020 never to reopen, which suggests that Disney knew the path forward), and the tower was then announced to the public in 2022, after designs and as I recall some permitting was finished. If anything, DVC in Florida has had too much inventory since 2020.