First Time Buyer

[Jmla32]

We are in the process of purchasing our first direct DVC contract. If you were buying for the first time today, would you still buy? Why or why not?

 

[emchen]

Yes but we would probably start with a resale contract first. But we did do direct Riviera for 75 points in July 2019. Now we own over 1200 points at 6 different resorts.

 

[Sandisw]

Yup! I enjoy owning DVC and I would never vacation like we do to Disney…as much as we do without it.

 

[cvjw]

I would not buy direct. The value isn’t there for us for the high price of direct points. We would buy a small resale contract to get us a few nights at Disney.

 

[DDuckSouthBend]

We would definitely purchase DVC again. It forces us to take a vacation every year. The bonus is that it makes multiple trips to our favorite vacation spot possible. Looking at the rack rates of the deluxe resorts, there is no way we would be able to go twice a year every year.

 

[RoseGold]

No way would I buy direct right now (unless you are a DL family).

I would only buy DVC if I knew I were coming to WDW at least every year for at least many years to come.

I could talk most people out of buying DVC right now, even very heavy WDW fans. Pricing is very high, and there's so much competition.

 

[PrincessGidget]

I definitely would. But I would start with 150 points direct and then purchase the rest resale. We bought all ours direct but the prices back then were so low and resale wasn’t a big thing.

 

[ParrotBill]

I bought 220 points in 1993, 80 points in 1995, and 250 points at GFV last month. I bought direct because of the incentives being offered to buy at GFV, otherwise I would have bought resale.

But we really like the benefits with direct contracts, so I would always want one with enough points for that.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We are in the process of purchasing our first direct DVC contract. If you were buying for the first time today, would you still buy? Why or why not?

Everyone’s situation is so unique and some posters are in a very different phase of life than they were when they purchased.

I think the real question is does DVC make sense for you. To provide insights on that question we would need more details about your situation.

 

[intamin]

Would definitely still buy but I would advise you to do as much research as possible, I had scoured these boards for months and it still wasn't enough. We have trip #7 to WDW this year in a couple weeks so I'd say we're the targeted demographic for DVC. Some of our trips are only for a few days but we're able to plan in advance so it works well for us. If we didn't have DVC we'd be going 2-3x per year for a week at a time regardless like we were before not including our trips to Aulani. If you're already in a pattern of going like we were I would buy in. If I could redo it I probably would buy resale first and then match my resale contract UY.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Absolutely 100% yes.

As for direct vs resale, we have both (mostly direct). Our first purchase was direct at VGF with discounts that made us fine with paying a little more. For our second contract we were looking for something to do split stays with and decided resale was the best option. Our third contract was VDH, so there was no resale option.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Never ever regretted buying our direct contract back in the 90s - so many memories and good times. But that decision would be tougher today. We'd probably buy resale because of the cost. But we would buy!!

 

[chalee94]

I would not buy direct. The value isn’t there for us for the high price of direct points. We would buy a small resale contract to get us a few nights at Disney.

Yeah, I am here also.

I like staying onsite but am also OK with staying offsite. I enjoy WDW but also like visiting Universal or other options.

But if you are committed to staying onsite at WDW at least once a year and you are in a good place financially, it can still make sense, sure.

 

[DanCali]

We are in the process of purchasing our first direct DVC contract. If you were buying for the first time today, would you still buy? Why or why not?

We are still relatively new members but accumulated quite a bit since we started. Our default option is the resale market where, for the most part, the prices are relatively transparent and set by the ongoing transactions. If you buy resale at one of the "O14 resorts" (especially one that expires in the late 2050s or later), you will have lots of flexibility for at least about 2 decades, and probably longer - that's good enough for me. We started with resale but we did also buy direct at member prices when they had strong incentives in the spring and summer for AKV and VGF, respectively. We ended up at about 30% direct and 70% resale.

If I started today, I would still buy VGF direct for access to new resorts, blue card benefits, and mainly because (unlike Aulani) its high resale value makes the direct purchase much less painful. But I am generally a "no resale restrictions" person so, in the absence of that option, or a sale like they had in May for AKV, or more meaningful incentives to buy a resale-restricted resort directly, it'd only be O14 resale at this point.

 

[ak517]

I think the real question is does DVC make sense for you.

OP, this is the most important question to ask yourself. We started with resale in Jan 2022 while living in south FL and being DINKs, going for a few nights at a time, but quickly running through our points. We've since moved back to NYC and had a baby, buying direct points in the process. One thing I've learned is that your Disney vacation style will likely change during the course of the contract. I knew we needed more points, but we didn't necessarily need direct benefits. Instead, I was more focused on getting a great $/pt value over the lifetime of the contract, which led us to direct VGF this past summer, so we got direct benefits in the process. I hope to continue to add more points to be able to take my extended family on longer trips, so yes, I would do it all again, but only at whatever value I deemed appropriate for my family, which will mean different things for everyone!

 

[Jmla32]

Everyone’s situation is so unique and some posters are in a very different phase of life than they were when they purchased.

I think the real question is does DVC make sense for you. To provide insights on that question we would need more details about your situation.

We currently have a contract at VGF with the summer incentives for FW49 (150pts). I know we are over the 30 days but they are still giving us time to sign. We won’t be using the FW for probably 8-10 years once the kids are thru high school but wanted that option for down the line.

We did want direct points to be able to book at Riv. We loved it there when we stayed over the summer (split stay RIV and VGF) but the resale restrictions made us choose VGF. We’d like to eventually use points at Aulani and HHI so we’d need to bank/borrow for those years. We rented points this last summer but I’d prefer to have control over the reservations. Our trips are usually 7-10 days. Once we pick the date we always keep them. Most of our trips have been planned except one last minute trip due to a great deal on airfare.

We’ve never stayed off site for any of our trips. We love being in the Disney bubble. Our past stays have been deluxe or moderate resorts. We’d plan to go every year or every other if we need to bank/borrow points for a trip.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We currently have a contract at VGF with the summer incentives for FW49 (150pts). I know we are over the 30 days but they are still giving us time to sign. We won’t be using the FW for probably 8-10 years once the kids are thru high school but wanted that option for down the line.

We did want direct points to be able to book at Riv. We loved it there when we stayed over the summer (split stay RIV and VGF) but the resale restrictions made us choose VGF. We’d like to eventually use points at Aulani and HHI so we’d need to bank/borrow for those years. We rented points this last summer but I’d prefer to have control over the reservations. Our trips are usually 7-10 days. Once we pick the date we always keep them. Most of our trips have been planned except one last minute trip due to a great deal on airfare.

We’ve never stayed off site for any of our trips. We love being in the Disney bubble. Our past stays have been deluxe or moderate resorts. We’d plan to go every year or every other if we need to bank/borrow points for a trip.

You sound like a text book candidate for DVC who got a smoking hot deal on direct points at a flagship resort that will also retain resale value because of its location on the monorail and not being subject to restrictions if you choose to sell in the future.

Smart call on the fixed week too!

A+ in my book

 

[RichVIII]

Nearly a 8 years of ownership and with no regrets (and love it). That said, I use to be all in with great DVC is with little risks and downsides. There is a lot more to think about with restricted resorts, blue card benefits, etc. The product has changed. Still value in it, but more to think about as a first time buyer.

 

[intamin]

We currently have a contract at VGF with the summer incentives for FW49 (150pts). I know we are over the 30 days but they are still giving us time to sign. We won’t be using the FW for probably 8-10 years once the kids are thru high school but wanted that option for down the line.

We did want direct points to be able to book at Riv. We loved it there when we stayed over the summer (split stay RIV and VGF) but the resale restrictions made us choose VGF. We’d like to eventually use points at Aulani and HHI so we’d need to bank/borrow for those years. We rented points this last summer but I’d prefer to have control over the reservations. Our trips are usually 7-10 days. Once we pick the date we always keep them. Most of our trips have been planned except one last minute trip due to a great deal on airfare.

We’ve never stayed off site for any of our trips. We love being in the Disney bubble. Our past stays have been deluxe or moderate resorts. We’d plan to go every year or every other if we need to bank/borrow points for a trip.

It's funny cuz originally we thought we liked VGF more and then add in the no resale restrictions and thought it was a done deal, they were drawing up the contracts and everything but ultimately what made us pick RIV was that there are no other Epcot area resorts besides BCV/BWV and 2042 was a no go for us and we prefer Epcot far more than MK so we ended up going the other direction and couldn't be happier.

Regardless, sounds like DVC is right for you and you got a great deal on VGF. Welcome home!

 

[Bucketfoot]

Figured I would just add this question to an existing thread, as it really doesn't warrant on for it alone...

What stage is the process in with Disney once your property shows up on the OC Comptroller site as recorded?

I'm assuming it means either that Disney has accepted everything and released the title or the title company has sent it to the Recorder and it immediatly goes to Disney upon this. I'm guessing this puts you into the 2-4 week window for the contract to show up on the DVC website.

I just never see the County Recorder portion showing up in any of the timelines I've seen. So it's really just a matter of curiosity!