DVC worth it if mostly going during peak season?

[Tanya Tink]

My husband and I are in our 30s and just had a baby. We are strongly considering DVC since we plan on going to Disneyland at least annually with some trips to Aulani. Now would be a great time to buy since our family is just starting. I know it appears over time that the large amount of money you initially invest eventually pays for itself. However, then you throw in annual dues that increase over time. A concern I have is that I notice that it costs about double the amount of points to use DVC during peak times than not. As our children get older and are in school, the peak times is when we would mostly go. So is DVC worth it then when you’re going through points more quickly then? Or are you better off putting that huge chunk of money in the stock market and paying cash for rooms instead? I am a HUGE Disney fan and was initially sold when I first learned more about this. I don’t need DVC to force me to go to Disney regularly. I’m just wondering if it is overall a smart investment.

 

[crvetter]

My husband and I are in our 30s and just had a baby. We are strongly considering DVC since we plan on going to Disneyland at least annually with some trips to Aulani. Now would be a great time to buy since our family is just starting. I know it appears over time that the large amount of money you initially invest eventually pays for itself. However, then you throw in annual dues that increase over time. A concern I have is that I notice that it costs about double the amount of points to use DVC during peak times than not. As our children get older and are in school, the peak times is when we would mostly go. So is DVC worth it then when you’re going through points more quickly then? Or are you better off putting that huge chunk of money in the stock market and paying cash for rooms instead? I am a HUGE Disney fan and was initially sold when I first learned more about this. I don’t need DVC to force me to go to Disney regularly. I’m just wondering if it is overall a smart investment.

If you plan on disneyland the peak times there don’t really line up with Disney world. Disneyland seems to be more well evened out in terms of demand. Besides holidays. Also if you plan on doing disneyland I would strongly suggest buying the grand Californian, it’s very difficult at 7 months.

 

[Tanya Tink]

If you plan on disneyland the peak times there don’t really line up with Disney world. Disneyland seems to be more well evened out in terms of demand. Besides holidays. Also if you plan on doing disneyland I would strongly suggest buying the grand Californian, it’s very difficult at 7 months.

Thanks for the response! Buying the Grand Californian would be my number one choice, but I was told by a DVC guide that it’s sold out and there is no waitlist. Buying resale makes me nervous since Disney is applying more and more restrictions. So I’d rather buy direct and get all the perks too.

 

[stuartsong]

Thanks for the response! Buying the Grand Californian would be my number one choice, but I was told by a DVC guide that it’s sold out and there is no waitlist. Buying resale makes me nervous since Disney is applying more and more restrictions. So I’d rather buy direct and get all the perks too.

You can buy the resale at VGC and buy the Aulani direct to get the benefits. If you plan is to visit both resorts, it's good to have points in both. Also consider that Disney will charge more during peak period for cash reservations.

 

[crvetter]

Thanks for the response! Buying the Grand Californian would be my number one choice, but I was told by a DVC guide that it’s sold out and there is no waitlist. Buying resale makes me nervous since Disney is applying more and more restrictions. So I’d rather buy direct and get all the perks too.

If you buy VGC I would only ever use the points there then rent them for cash and then rent points at another resort. As VGC is the easiest to rent out compared to all DVC resorts. So any restrictions on reserving at Riviera wouldn’t matter as much because of that advantage with VGC. As for Aulani it’s not fully sold out since 2011 (I think) and has some sort of availability usually at 7 months (except holidays). Might be more expensive units. If you want the hotel rooms, etc those are very limited and hard to get even owning there. Also Aulani is 2 times the cost direct as resale so remember that.

What perks do you want/afraid of missing out on?

 

[Deb & Bill]

What do you consider peak season?

 

[limace]

We own resale at the Grand-if that’s mainly where you want to travel, the perks don’t really matter. There is not a significant AP discount like there is at WDW, and it’s never a good idea-especially with precious GCV points-to use points for cruises at other resorts. Buy GCV resale.

 

[skippytx]

Unlike DVC locations at WDW, I don't really see any value in owning at GCV unless you just have to own there and don't care about how much it costs. You need almost 200 points for a week in a Magic Season studio once a year, and those points are going to cost around 40K on the resale market and 52K direct. The annual dues alone are going to cost the same amount of money as a week long stay at a nice Disneyland area good neighbor hotel.

DVC seems to work out in certain situations for WDW trips, but I can't figure out any financial way that DVC ownership at Grand California makes any sort of financial sense. I don't know anything about Aulani, so I can't comment on that.

We stay across the street at the Tropicana when we visit DLR, it's just as close as 2 of the onsite hotels and is inexpensive and clean.

 

[ray3127]

The annual dues alone are going to cost the same amount of money as a week long stay at a nice Disneyland area good neighbor hotel.

DVC seems to work out in certain situations for WDW trips, but I can't figure out any financial way that DVC ownership at Grand California makes any sort of financial sense.

I understand this perspective, but also note that there are many people who would not imagine staying offsite at DLR. Having done both, we are now in that boat, and just last week our VGC contract passed ROFR. Given the prices of VGC points, we must not be alone.

If you're comparing VGC points to "across the street hotels", then obviously it makes no sense to buy the points. But that's not an apples to apples comparison. If you are determined ("sold") on staying on-site, then you need to compare VGC point costs to VGC cash rates. If you do that, and plan to consistently travel there, then the VGC points can make sense (they did for us).... We did 125 points, which covers 6 nights in a studio during the time of year we *always* go... when looking up VGC cash rates for 6 nights during this time, our payback period is rather quick.

If you want to argue onsite vs. offsite at DLR, there are plenty of places to discuss that. But that wasn't the OP's question.

I agree with others that only reason to buy VGC points is to consistently stay there, and not use those points elsewhere. If you're considering buying VGC points, the resale restrictions should not concern you, as your points are currently the most expensive DVC points on either the direct or secondary market; the value isn't in the perks.

And I'd second Deb/Bill's question: what specific perks do you want?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The "ownership perks" of owning DVC to use mostly at VGC and Aulani have very low economic value. There's very little in the way of economic perks for DVC members who mostly travel to those locations.

And if your travel is mostly to those locations, things like an AP discount or a rare shot at a Moonlight Magic at WDW have low value compared to the opportunity difference between buying VGC resale or buying anything direct. You are not going to be able to book VGC consistently without VGC points.

 

[skippytx]

If you're 100% planning on staying at VGC and no where else, yeah I guess it can make sense in that certain scenario. That's an exact, and very expensive scenario though hence the "unless you just have to own there and don't care about how much it costs"

What concerns me about the OP's post is the use of the word "investment" and the statement "I don't need DVC to force me to go to Disneyland", just want to point out that it's a large financial commitment, and I didn't even touch on how small the resort is and how difficult booking peak times are there.

 

[crvetter]

If you're 100% planning on staying at VGC and no where else, yeah I guess it can make sense in that certain scenario. That's an exact, and very expensive scenario though hence the "unless you just have to own there and don't care about how much it costs"

What concerns me about the OP's post is the use of the word "investment" and the statement "I don't need DVC to force me to go to Disneyland", just want to point out that it's a large financial commitment, and I didn't even touch on how small the resort is and how difficult booking peak times are there.

While I agree with your statement on the financial commitment there, I think at 11 months booking VGC isn't really a whole lot more difficult than WDW resorts. But the OP should realize yes there are 23 Dedicated 2 Bedrooms and 23 Lock-Offs only, which is why they absolutely want to stay there they should buy there. Because at 7 Months any availability is taken instantly at the opening of the reservation system. Also WDW and DLR peak travel times for DVC appear to be significantly different. As for difficulty I would consider this post https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...rooms-june-2018-update.3689931/#post-59393366

But overall DVC should never be considered an investment in the traditional sense. It is more a hedge against rising room costs at a preferred hotel(s), and the full benefits won't be realized unless you hold for significant length of time.

 

[starry_solo]

If you are primarily planning to go to Disneyland, then there aren't any "perks" you need to worry about. DVC only gives $20 off for Disneyland annual passes (and not even all). So buy resale at VGC so you can get the 11 month booking window for VGC.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks for the response! Buying the Grand Californian would be my number one choice, but I was told by a DVC guide that it’s sold out and there is no waitlist. Buying resale makes me nervous since Disney is applying more and more restrictions. So I’d rather buy direct and get all the perks too.

There are no Disneyland perks that make it worthwhile to buy direct. At WDW there is at least a discounted AP as a perk. At DL? It's a whopping $20 off. Might as well be a kick in the pants with the AP prices there now! And an AP has to make sense anyway to have that perk matter. If your a S Cal resident you'll have access to better discounted ap's and if not - well, it's $20 bucks savings with DVC perks- woo hoo!

Do you want to always stay onsite or are some of the other lodging options offsite at DL an option? If so then it's probably not worthwhile purchasing VGC for a single yearly trip to DL unless that's just the place you have to stay. Even then though it may not make sense. I'd stay at Aulani before buying there. And I wouldn't buy VGC to stay at Aulani. But there are decently priced Aulani contracts if you wanted to consistently visit there although they seem to have a decent amount of discounts on rooms there too for the general public.

 

[Tanya Tink]

If you buy VGC I would only ever use the points there then rent them for cash and then rent points at another resort. As VGC is the easiest to rent out compared to all DVC resorts. So any restrictions on reserving at Riviera wouldn’t matter as much because of that advantage with VGC. As for Aulani it’s not fully sold out since 2011 (I think) and has some sort of availability usually at 7 months (except holidays). Might be more expensive units. If you want the hotel rooms, etc those are very limited and hard to get even owning there. Also Aulani is 2 times the cost direct as resale so remember that.

What perks do you want/afraid of missing out on?

I guess mostly the discounts and whatever nice benefits there are out there with buying direct.

 

[crvetter]

I guess mostly the discounts and whatever nice benefits there are out there with buying direct.

I think some of the prior posters have laid it out well. There isn't a whole lot that direct gets you over resale at Disneyland (more of the benefits are at Disney World itself). Some of the benefits that you wouldn't get is the dinning, shopping, and AP discounts at Disneyland. The dinning and shopping is at about 10% at most locations; however, if you have a Disneyland AP you already get these or more. As for the AP discounts as others stated it is only $20 off so nothing that would be a strong reason to buy direct.

Maybe some of the other posters can clarify buy I think resale would also limit you from Moonlight Magic at Disneyland/DCA too. However, those two parks already have an extensive line-up throughout the year of other ticketed evening events that might be more compelling than Moonlight Magic.

 

[limace]

I guess mostly the discounts and whatever nice benefits there are out there with buying direct.

Sure, they are for direct, but what we are pointing at is that they don’t get you much at DL. I have both a resale GCV contract and a direct AKV contract-I get some merchandise tickets and the soarin’ tour at DL, because I’m direct, but there are no substantial financial savings on passes like there are at WDW.

We love DL and I’m thrilled to own at the GCV. We have 100 points, and are able to do 4-5 nights in a two bedroom so far, every other year. Once in mid-June, next trip early January. If I wasn’t taking everyone and could do a studio, I could do at least a week a year.

 

[Tanya Tink]

Another concern I have about buying Grand Californian resale is the fact that all the contracts I found are much more expensive per point than buying Aulani or Copper Creek direct.

A DVC owner I spoke with told me he always uses his points to stay at Disneyland hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel since his daughter likes those hotels better than the Grand Californian. But it sounds like buying DVC to mostly stay at those hotels is probably not the smart way to go?

 

[crvetter]

Another concern I have about buying Grand Californian resale is the fact that all the contracts I found are much more expensive per point than buying Aulani or Copper Creek direct

Correct, I'm in the process of buying Grand Californian resale and am paying more than I did Copper Creek direct. However, this gets me the 11 month advantage at the Grand Californian. This is really what the extra cost is for. Barring any major changes by Disney or a economic collapse I suspect that the Grand Californian points will hold their value well when comparing to Copper Creek or Aulani. It is the only DVC at Disneyland with direct park access, even if Disney were to add another DVC (which they just dropped that plan this past summer), the Grand Californian will have a strong advantage.

Do you ever want to visit Disney World? Or is it only Aulani and Disneyland? If it is just the latter I wouldn't really recommend direct for all that the others have pointed out. And if doing Disneyland is really important on a regular basis then buying there is the way to go for sure. Also if you find a "loaded" contract (one with all it's points) you can easily rent out a year or two of points at the Grand Californian for a minimum of $15 a point (low end) bringing it closer to the direct prices.

The bigger point is trading in at 7 months is extremely difficult and limited at the Grand but reserving at 11 months is easier. So you want the advantage.

 

[Networth]

OP why do you worry about the price of CCV direct if you want to stay at VGC? If you bought CCV you would find it extremely difficult booking VGC at the 7 month mark.