First Time Buyer - Looking for Opinions

[Lunchbox66]

Hey,

This is my first post here, so hello. So my wife and I have been seriously considering DVC for about a year now and I've had it in the back of my head since our first trip together in 2018. Originally I was against it because of the timeshare stereotype, but after research and doing a tour with a guide we are 100% sold on buying in. Mostly looking for people to check my logic on why we're going the route we are.

We plan on buying 200-250 points at the Riviera Resort direct. We do not have kids yet but plan to have 1-2 within the next couple years.

I chose the point value because we ideally plan to go to Disney once a year for 5-7 days or two smaller trips throughout the year with a possibility of popping down for a weekend with unused points if needed since we live in Jacksonville FL and plan to remain in FL. We'd like to stay in 1 BR's at the Riviera and most other DVC resorts or would be willing to do a studio at the monorail resorts, and don't see any immediate need for a 2 BR. 250 points gets us 5-7 nights at every DVC resort in either a 1 BR or studio during the times of year we go from what I've seen on the chart. Plus I figured start on the lower end and we can always add more.

We fell in love with Riviera when we visited this past year, despite some of the negative things I had heard and the length of contract is also a strong selling point for us. The motif fits our tastes perfectly, loved the bar/restaurant, and epcot & hollywood studios are our favorite parks with the skyline there. So I'm going with the buy where we want to stay field of thought.

Finally, we want to go direct mostly due to the new restrictions of not being able to use resale points at future resorts or Riviera only at Riviera. We definitely will want to check new resorts that are almost certain to be built over the next 30-40 years. And ya you get a blue card lol.

Any thoughts are welcome. Sorry for the long post.

 

[KVacc]

Congrats!! Sounds like you know what you want and Riviera is good for you and your family. We thought about Riviera but worried if we ever needed to sell it we might have a harder time due to the restrictions with someone buying it resale.

 

[nuhusky123]

Given no kids now but plans for the future I’d say 100% pay extra and go direct

riv or another resort is really a preference but you do have it right that being able to spend points at other resorts is a great benefit.

Buy direct and enjoy for years to come

 

[MICKIMINI]

Congratulations from me too! My only suggestion is to split your purchase as a CYA in case you ever need to sell. Two 100 contracts will sell easier than a 200 and yes, a bit more in closing but consider that insurance. If you ever need to sell and hey, life happens, RIV will go resale much quicker if it is a small contract. Good luck!

 

[Paul70]

Buy in and look forward to your vacations! I also believe in the DVC maxim “Buy where you want to stay.” If you love Riviera and want to stay there for a lot of your trips, then do it. We bought (resale) at Boulder Ridge because we wanted to stay in a studio there at Christmas time—no way you get that if you don’t book 11 months out. You know the resale restrictions for Riviera, so if you’re comfortable with that, don’t sweat it. And maybe you’ll never sell if you continue to love going to WDW?! You hit the right amount of points for a 1 bedroom. The only other consideration is your Use Year. If there is a consistent time you plan to vacation, you might want to try for a given month. For instance, if you know you will vacation most often in the summer, it would be better to have a May or June use year. Otherwise, it looks like it’s time to buy!

 

[davidl81]

Your logic is sound. RIV is the one resort where buying resale versus direct does not really make sense given the fairly small difference in direct and resale cost and the resale restrictions (unless you only want to stay at RIV 100% of the time).
You could break up the contract into two, but honestly I don't think it is worth the extra closing cost on the size contract you are looking at. If you were buying 300+ points that would be different.

 

[Vulnox]

Yeah the split contract thing is tough. I think two 100 pt contracts would sell easier than one 200, but when I look at current resale, the 200 point contracts I was looking at were snatched up super quick anyway.

I think for your situation the RIV direct is a better option than some alternatives, and the resale restriction will be less of a concern for you (and us) because assuming you keep the contract at least 20 years, RIV will be far from the only resort with restrictions and any resale disadvantage will drop away. Most likely anyway, I can't see why DIS would decide RIV will be the only one with restrictions. As contracts on older resorts expire and new resorts come out, they will likely see restrictions as well.

Even if not, I haven't seen the Riviera resale suffer much compared to other resale, so whatever. It's all a guessing game at this point anyway.

The only reason I would consider a different resort is that you don't have kids yet. Assuming you plan to visit Disney with them even from 1-2 years old, I feel like they might be more drawn to Magic Kingdom than Epcot or HS, so looking at one of the resorts that is on the monorail or walking distance to MK would certainly play well for them at such a young age.

But, of course, you are buying for potentially decades of visits and not just the next 6-10 years, so Riviera is still good. Was just giving you something to consider. While your guide will push Riviera, there are other resorts that Disney can still sell you direct, and buying direct on any of them gets you access to Riviera still, just at the 7 month window. So a Magic Kingdom resort with 150 points might suit you well for the next 10 years with the newborns/young kids, then you can add on 100 points at Riviera when ready.

But, that's just tossing something against the wall. Not what I think I would necessarily do. We did 200 points direct to Riviera and I have no regrets, except maybe I should have given an extra bit of consideration to a FW, but I still don't think it would have helped since I can't see us staying in a studio for the foreseeable future. Good luck, and I think you have a lot of the right things in mind!

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I agree with all your reasoning and would only recommend 300 points for Riviera one-bedrooms. This is our home resort, and we always do one-bedrooms as a family, but the shifting point charts are making school vacations very pricy points-wise. I think 250 you’ll always be running *just* a little short every trip. Plus 300 is a better discount now versus prices jumping $20 every year or two.

Other than that, we love Riviera, and the kid splash pad is adorable and well laid out.

Congratulations!

 

[davidl81]

I agree with all your reasoning and would only recommend 300 points for Riviera one-bedrooms. This is our home resort, and we always do one-bedrooms as a family, but the shifting point charts are making school vacations very pricy points-wise. I think 250 you’ll always be running *just* a little short every trip. Plus 300 is a better discount now versus prices jumping $20 every year or two.

Other than that, we love Riviera, and the kid splash pad is adorable and well laid out.

Congratulations!

Yeah I was thinking along those lines as well. RIV’s point chart for 1BR is tough and it can eat up a lot of points. Ultimately I think it’s fine if OP dips their toes in at 200 points but ultimately would not be shocked if they add on in the future.

 

[Sandisw]

Congratulations from me too! My only suggestion is to split your purchase as a CYA in case you ever need to sell. Two 100 contracts will sell easier than a 200 and yes, a bit more in closing but consider that insurance. If you ever need to sell and hey, life happens, RIV will go resale much quicker if it is a small contract. Good luck!

New buyers must have one contract at least 150

 

[Sandisw]

RIV is my favorite and it is a great choice! Congrats! We check in for 3 nights starting the10th and then staying there a few nights each month in Feb and March too!

 

[bakerworld]

We have 4 smaller contracts - all direct buy. We enjoyed the direct buy process because it is quick and relatively painless. Congratulations on your decision.

 

[Lunchbox66]

Thank you for all the replies. I was thinking I would split the contract maybe 150 and 50 or 200 and 50 in case by some chance we decide to sell. I understand life changes alot over a decade. My wife and I do agree that 200 or even 250 is probably not quite enough and will end up with "addon-itis" and up it to 300 but wanted to dip our toes as the one poster said the first year then add the second. I appreciate all the responses.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I would agree that you logic is sound. If you plan to keep your contract for the duration of the resort's life, the resale restrictions will not impact you at all. They will only impact the next owner if you should ever decide to sell, and therefore, may also impact the resale value. But the longer you plan to keep the contract, the less I would consider this as a major factor.

 

[Paul70]

If you’re already thinking you’ll want 300, buy 300. You’re getting the incentives now.

 

[MICKIMINI]

New buyers must have one contract at least 150

Thanks for pointing that out Sandisw!

 

[RoseGold]

The 1BR chart for Riviera is brutal. I’d do the math against other resorts, even buying direct, before locking into RIV. RIV is nice, but is it worth that much more than other, also nice resorts?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/akv-or-riviera-buying-direct.3857097/post-63474406
If your goal is 1BR, and you are traveling off-peak, you might even be able to use sleep around points. I’ve been able to do 1BR Beach Club plenty, which is much less points than RIV.

 

[Sandisw]

The 1BR chart for Riviera is brutal. I’d do the math against other resorts, even buying direct, before locking into RIV. RIV is nice, but is it worth that much more than other, also nice resorts?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/akv-or-riviera-buying-direct.3857097/post-63474406
If your goal is 1BR, and you are traveling off-peak, you might even be able to use sleep around points. I’ve been able to do 1BR Beach Club plenty, which is much less points than RIV.

It sure is if it is a place you want to stay! Based on the math, DVC is too expensive to buy a resort that isn’t your first choice if you have one.

Personally would rather stay one less night to be at my resort of choice than longer at one that is not.

Granted, you are not a fan so it’s not for you. But plenty of us definitely think it’s worth it! And 1 bedrooms are on par with VGF and BLT so it’s not the only one out there that costs that much.

 

[Ruttangel]

The price is going up 3rd Feb and you've just missed some better incentives.
I would wait for VGF-2 to be announced as RIV might get new and improved incentives. It is a gamble though.
Personally RIV point chart and restrictions give me the heebie jeebies.

 

[kandlsutton]

We bought in at RIV a year ago, sight unseen. Had been considering it for years, but with older kids and college expenses, we just couldn't pull the trigger. Then in 2019, DH and I did a week long stay with no kids and had the best time. So last year, our DD wanted a family trip and when I really looked at the cash stay for a 2BR, buying into DVC was a no brainer. DH loves AKV but RIV had the better discounts, but we also picked up a AKV resale contract as well. And fortunately, we were able to pay cash - no sure the decision would be that easy if it came with a monthly payment plus the monthly maintenance fees.
Our Welcome Home stay was in mid-December and DH, absolutely LOVED RIV. The restaurants, adult areas and pools were awesome and the Skyliner is a game changer for us. It‘s a nice relaxing ride over to Epcot and Studios and the line continues to move - no wondering when the next bus will arrive. Bus transportation was good to MK, AK, and DS and buses arrived to resort pretty much at the time shown on the MDE app.
Will be returning to RIV next fall, but can’t pull the trigger on the 1BR for just the two of us. It is more than 2x the studio points! We will see if the washer/dryer convenience sways me in the next few months.