First Time DVC Buyer needing help deciding Riv/GFV Direct vs AKL Resale

[Arbogast]

I am trying to decide between 150 points at RIV/GFV direct or 200 points resale at AKL. I thought I would throw a poll up to see what you all thought.

 

[Spinster Travel]

Tough call, and of course this is all about your preferences, but I don't like the cost of points at RR given location. I don't like the Skyliner because when it shuts down for weather (which happens often) its a total mess with trying to get busses or alternate options around WDW. For the cost of points per night, I'd prefer the VGF, so if I was being "stuck" at my home resort, I'd prefer VGF for those reasons and the incentives are decent.

 

[DVCsloth]

Voted for 150 Direct Riviera. I don't think I would buy resale as my first purchase. 150 points will get you the blue card and ability to stay at future resorts. Chose RIV because of the more balanced room availability.

 

[Leight19]

I would chose the 200 akv points resale. Akv is one of my favorite places to stay and with the point charts, points go much further at akv then they do at riv or gfv. You could stay almost 2x as long with 200akv points vs 150 gf points (maybe even 3x as long if you manage to get value room).

One negative for akv resale today is Disney is on a crazy rofr streak (~85% of contracts taken) so I think price to get through rofr would be inflated today (rofr has taken as high as $141 when tons of contracts listed $135 or below).

You also may have fear of missing out but I don’t see any value in perks Disney is offering today which would justify the extra cost per point.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The same old saying rings true here - buy where you think you'd like to stay most. I think the best value (understanding less years on the contract diminishes value after while) is AKV. Also agree, though, with Leight19 that ROFR by Disney has picked up, and you might not get the exact contract you're discussing here. Our 2nd choice would be GFV. We're not fans of Riviera - but there are plenty of people out there who love it! We don't view Skyliner as an extreme positive. It's nice in some circumstances, but if you're staying during hot, unpredictable weather, remember that the Skyliner running will be just as unpredictable.

 

[RoseGold]

Depends on your exit strategy. If you plan to hold <10 years, I'd go resale. If you plan to hold longer than that, I'd go direct VGF.

I wouldn't buy RIV at all, but definitely not direct, because of the restrictions.

It's worth noting that not only does the money go further, the points go MUCH further at AKL. So, if you are happy at AKL, it can be an excellent choice. It doesn't work great for me, because I never get a car.

 

[DVCsloth]

Depends on your exit strategy. If you plan to hold <10 years, I'd go resale. If you plan to hold longer than that, I'd go direct VGF.

I wouldn't buy RIV at all, but definitely not direct, because of the restrictions.

It's worth noting that not only does the money go further, the points go MUCH further at AKL. So, if you are happy at AKL, it can be an excellent choice. It doesn't work great for me, because I never get a car.

I wouldn't buy Riviera resale especially because of the restrictions. Not saying it wouldn't work for some people, this will be the only resort your points will be good at.

 

[Sandisw]

I voted for RIV because it’s my favorite but VGF is a close second.

However it really depends on what you like. I am. It a fan of AKV plus I prefer the unrestricted points which resale won’t give you.

Since there is the possibility that the new Poly tower at WDW could be excluded from resale, it increases my vote to direct!

 

[pks_domer]

We just went through a similar thought process, and ended up going AKV resale (Everybody has their rationale that makes sense for them; ours was: while wife loves GF, we went AKV for value, we love that resort, and didn't think there were any blue-card perks right now that we absolutely HAD to have-- with the thought that if things change on the direct end or where we want home to be, we'd already be members and can tap those purchase incentives). But as Leight19 said, ROFR on that resort is pretty rough right now. We got ROFR'd first time through, made it through on the second (international seller) and are waiting to close. One unlucky person on the ROFR thread is on like their fifth attempt to get an AKV contract through. Resale can have incredible value, but you may need a ton of patience to find the right contract for you and to get it through.

 

[sndral]

My first batch of DVC points was a resale AKV contract. I opted for it because we‘d stayed at & liked the resort & the villas (especially Jambo) & it seemed like a fairly cheap way to try out the DVC system. I still own & use that contract at AKV. When I bought it I planned to add on, so I tried out BWV (I wanted an Epcot resort) and VGF - VGF had always been my favorite resort back in my cash days but I was hesitant about the villa building, turns out I love the villa building, so I wanted to buy there, meanwhile VGF sold out & had a wait list for direct points, so I bought resale points there. If I had it to do over I’d have just bought VGF direct when they initially went on sale. I’ve since added on at AKV resale & just bought additional direct points at VGF2.
So my thoughts based on that history w/ some facts sprinkled in -
Maintenance Fees - rounded to nearest cent, eg cost to own long term after initial buy in:
VGF $7.01
AKV $8.24
RVA $8.38
Size, the long term driver of how hard a resort is to book & how much it’ll likely be valued on the resale market*:
VGF 4.3 million points
RVA 6.7 million points
AKV 7.4 million points
Availability to buy:
AKV sold out
VGF direct if current sales trends continue will likely sell out before mid 2023
RVA direct if current sales trends continue will likely sell out in early 2026
If you want VGF, especially if you want it direct, then now is the time to buy. If you don’t care which resort you own but want direct points RVA is the cheapest & you can get 2021 points w/ the right use year - but if exit strategy matters to you then RVA is a gamble IMO. AKV prices right now seem inflated on the resale market because DVC has been very aggressively ROFR’ing AKV contracts, if you have the patience to keep trying to get an AKV resale contract through ROFR there are a lot of listings so at some point you can probably get a bargain.
*IMO we won’t know how RVA will perform on the resale market until the resort is nearing sell out. Right now it’s less than 50% sold - so resale inventory is low, as RVA sells more points there’ll be more resale supply & numbers predict that it’ll settle at a resale price slightly higher than AKV because it’s smaller & lower than VGF because it’s larger, however, resale RVA points are a very different beast because they cannot be used to book elsewhere thus demand will likely be lower which should exert downward pressure on RVA resale prices for the next decade+.

 

[BruinEd03]

Depends on your exit strategy. If you plan to hold <10 years, I'd go resale. If you plan to hold longer than that, I'd go direct VGF.

I wouldn't buy RIV at all, but definitely not direct, because of the restrictions.

It's worth noting that not only does the money go further, the points go MUCH further at AKL. So, if you are happy at AKL, it can be an excellent choice. It doesn't work great for me, because I never get a car.

I don’t think you even need to hold VGF direct for 10 years to come out ahead over resale. The spread between resale and direct for VGF is pretty much just $15 at this point after incentives. It will be pretty easy to get that much value out of it with just blue card benefits.

At 7 months out, the OP will also most likely be able to book AKV.

If someone loves VGF there is no better time to go direct.

 

[Arbogast]

I don’t think you even need to hold VGF direct for 10 years to come out ahead over resale. The spread between resale and direct for VGF is pretty much just $15 at this point after incentives. It will be pretty easy to get that much value out of it with just blue card benefits.

At 7 months out, the OP will also most likely be able to book AKV.

If someone loves VGF there is no better time to go direct.

Here's my issue, how much more do I need to love Riv over GFV to make it worth it? I love the location being by epcot and HS, but I don't love the restrictions. I do like the 48 years Riv has left in the contract being only 32 years old and starting a family soon.

 

[DVCsloth]

Here's my issue, how much more do I need to love Riv over GFV to make it worth it? I love the location being by epcot and HS, but I don't love the restrictions. I do like the 48 years Riv has left in the contract being only 32 years old and starting a family soon.

I would buy where I wanted to stay. I think Riviera will continue to be difficult to book standard rooms (if you want lower point rooms), unless you own there. Restrictions will only potentially affect resale. Riviera may be worth less than VGF further down the road, but it should always hold decent resale value. Disney has invested heavily in Epcot and H.S. I love the Skyliner and the Bus service is really nice there as well. Each destination has its own dedicated pick up area and if the Skyliner is down, they had a bus there right away the 2 times we stayed there. We also own VGF and CCV. I personally think all the DVC resorts are really good, it just depends on what you like.

 

[BruinEd03]

Here's my issue, how much more do I need to love Riv over GFV to make it worth it? I love the location being by epcot and HS, but I don't love the restrictions. I do like the 48 years Riv has left in the contract being only 32 years old and starting a family soon.

Grand Floridian ends on 2064, Riviera ends on 2070. That’s a difference of 6 years. In the long term, that’s negligible.

As for loving Riviera? I would ask this - if you stay in GFV, would you be irritated that you’re not staying in Riviera? Eg, is Riviera the only place you would be happy staying at?

However, if you’re OK staying in GFV, and then possibly switching to Riviera at 7 months every few years, then I would suggest GFV over Riviera.

 

[RamblinWreck]

There are some very specific reasons you might choose any of those 3.

For any of them, if you are looking to stay in a standard view studio most of the time then you want to own where you want to stay. But these resorts also have some unique things.

Riviera:
Tower studios. If these appeal to you, you’ll want to own there.
If staying at the riviera appeals to you at all, don’t buy AKL resale
If you care a lot about resale value, Riv also may not be the top choice

AKL:
Value rooms. If these appeal to you, you won’t ever get them unless you own there.

VGF:
If you care about resale value a lot, this should be the top choice probably.

 

[Wedgeout]

With liking RIV, the resale option even though more points, might make you feel left out. Comes down to VGF and RIV. Look over the point charts and pick the one that works best for the 11 month reservations if wanting harder to book categories. Pick the one you would like to stay at most. I’d go RIV and start a saving program for adding monorail loop Polynesian points when that goes on sale.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

You’ve given a seriously tough proposition here!

I love all 3 enough to own at all 3. Both AKL & RIV were purchased resale, and VGF was direct this year. Here’s the biggest problem- you haven’t said where you want to stay. When you’re talking a huge chunk of money, I think that’s the most important factor. Without it, I can make a strong argument for all 3 options.

*AKL- lowest points chart of the 3 by far, plus you could afford more points here; Jambo House is harder to book @7 months; the resort is spectacular & I love the savanna!! Sadly, you could never use your points to stay at RIV (& possibly the new Poly Tower), and the dues are pretty high.

*GFV & RIV- some of the highest point charts; the resorts are both stylish & feel more upscale (imo); booking standard view will require owning here. The rooms are bigger, and the bathrooms are so much better. You can use your points anywhere (& have the option of buying AP’s if/when they resume sales), but you’d have fewer points to play with. RIV dues are similar to AKV, but have the longest contract. GFV dues are much more reasonable and will likely always be the lowest of the 3.

Only you know what’s most important to you. Best of luck in your decision!

 

[Royal Consort]

I own both RVA and VGF. I don't enjoy AKL due to its massive size and location. The bus situation down there is something I try to avoid. That said it's thematically very impressive. If bus services and the length of ride don't bother you, buy there.

VGF is elegant but stuck in an 80's imagining of the Victorian era. I like it here but the out buildings annoy me, particularly when it rains and I need to get something. The walk to Magic Kingdom is very much a game changer but I am indifferent on the monorail. I agree that a resale price would likely be higher here. Ultimately I see VGF as only a good location for MK and the MK area. Getting to other parks or Disney Springs is a long trek. I split stay and do 4-5 days at VGF just to do MK resort area activities. I will not visit HS, AK or DS from this location due to waiting for buses and length of ride. I will do that when I move over to RVA.

RVA is all contained within the tower and everything is easily accessible. This is something I love about the property. It's smaller, less busy, and has a boutique feeling. It is mid-way to everywhere and the bus transport is regular and convenient. The skyliner is fantastic but as other posters have commented, it is a different story when there's lightning and it shuts down. It annoys me so much I won't be travelling anywhere near hurricane season. RVA has the resale restrictions and likely won't fetch as high a price as VGF on the secondary market. We need to see what happens with resale values in the future anyway as VDH and Poly tower are likely to be restricted.

It depends on what you want:

How important is theme?
Do you want to be close to MK but further away from everything else?
Do you want to be closer to AK?
Do you want to be equidistant from most parks and DS?
How fundamental is resale value?
Do you need greater access to 1 bedrooms? (AKL or RVA)
Finally do you want direct points to access future resorts that will be restricted to resale?

If it was me (know my tastes trend more upscale), I'd buy RVA to have a central location, get the previous year's points with current incentives and enjoy an upscale hotel design as a dedicated timeshare.

 

[Sandisw]

Here's my issue, how much more do I need to love Riv over GFV to make it worth it? I love the location being by epcot and HS, but I don't love the restrictions. I do like the 48 years Riv has left in the contract being only 32 years old and starting a family soon.

IMO..not buying the resort you may prefer because of resale restrictions doesn’t make a whole ton of sense for me.

It’s holding its own better than we thought it would and as more resorts come on line with similar restrictions, it won’t seem as bad.

If they decide to change course and remove restrictions, then you end up with a product that will do well.

Now, if staying at RIV is not a big deal, then I get it. We love it and bought both direct and resale.

Personally, we never used resale value as part of things but considered it a bonus if we ever sold and got any money back.

Having said that, if you have concerns, then maybe VGF is a good compromise. It allows access to RIV..resale AKV does not..but gives you something without the restrictions. Just figure you will more than likely spend more to stay at RIV because SV rooms go pretty fast, even for owners.

 

[Arbogast]

I appreciate all of the thoughtful comments! Leaning towards Riviera for the location and ease of access to HS and Epcot, that being said I've stayed at AKL and love it and Jiko especially!