First time DVC buyer

[Bucketfoot]

Hello all, I've looked through quite a few threads and found answers to some of the question we had, but the one big one comes down to the current home resort options.

Assuming our base purchase would be direct from Disney what are the major advantages of VGF (which I assume is Villas at Grand Floridian) and RIV (again assuming to be Riviera?

Secondly, with there being better deals for Aulani (per what my wife has been seeing), what are the major negatives other than not being able to book out as far in advance for going with it as our home resort.

For a little background, we are older (late 50's & early 60's) with adult children (20's). DL is where we go most often, due to having family in the area, but doing this would likely mean more frequent trips to WDW. We have also stayed at Aulani and like to take Hawaii trips (just don't tend to prefer Oahu). If we do this, I would guess that we would typically do a WDW trip every other year and bank points to cover a longer stay or nicer room.

 

[Bucketfoot]

I will add that at least for me, location and transportation are huge benefits for VGF. This alone would make me lean towards VGF.

 

[kmedina]

I'm biased when it comes to all three. Grand Floridian is my favorite WDW resort. I now own at Aulani. My bias toward Riviera is negative in resale restrictions. Should you need to sell it for any reason, you are selling to people who can only stay at Riviera. That's a niche market.

Have you considered waiting for DLT (Disneyland Tower) to open? It should be ready within the next year or two. Edited to add: I realize this will probably have resale restrictions as well, but with only two Disneyland properties (one of which is very difficult to get into anyway), it is less of an issue. That said, if DLT comes with resale restrictions, I may buy VGC resale instead.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Although our plans are to eventually pass this on to our daughters, the resale restrictions are a big concern with Riviera as it eventually ties their hands.

As for waiting for DLT, we've put this off as long as I want to. My position with my wife is that we have the funds to be able to do it and we are not getting any younger. So for me it is time that we finally decide we are doing it, or we kill the idea completely.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Your comments did make me think of a different option. We have talked that we would likely add someplace else via resale sometime down the road.

Instead it might make sense for our first purchase to be via resale and do DLT when it is available as our second home resort?!?!

 

[redboat45]

If you love Grand Floridian go with that one. You can also pretty much get any DVC you'd like direct if you're ok with the pricing. IF you want BLT Disney can make that happen, Poly, sure. It would just cost more than GF.

If you're going direct, the only benefit to Riviera is the longer expiration date and if you ever wanted to book the tiny tower studios.

 

[redboat45]

Your comments did make me think of a different option. We have talked that we would likely add someplace else via resale sometime down the road.

Instead it might make sense for our first purchase to be via resale and do DLT when it is available as our second home resort?!?!

how many points are you looking to buy? Resale can make a huge price difference depending on how many points you want.

 

[WildernessMickey]

I recently had to decide between Riviera and Grand Floridan and I chose VGF.

I love Riviera. I had a great stay there in 2020, and I will be back there in a few months.
Riviera gives you 2021 points, and has a longer contract. The resale restrictions really bother me though.

VGF is on the monorail, walking distance to the Magic Kingdom, and I love the new rooms. I mostly book studios, so I am happy to book the new Resort Rooms, and I am happy that there will be more studios than other size rooms. I like that I can walk to the Poly, or take the monorail to the Contemporary. There are lots of dining choices in the three Magic Kingdom resorts. So ultimately I went with VGF because I felt more comfortable about owning there. Both resorts are great for me though.

If you haven't stayed at Aulani, you should try it. I love the location on the lagoons. Oahu has a lot to offer if you go look for it, but most people enjoy the resort so much they don't want to leave.

 

[Sandisw]

The benefit for RIV and VGF is that right now, those are the resorts in active sales for DVD that are located at WDW. RIV is my favorite with VGF being secondary. We do Epcot more than any other park and having the Skyliner to get back and forth is wonderful. We also like the vibe of the resort as most of our trips are adult only. But, we do split stay so we get at least one night at VGF because it does make it easy to get to MK, even if we only want stop in a little bit, and we love visiting all the resorts on the monorail loop.

RIV is a longer contract and has a slightly better points chart than VGF does...however, the dues are more right now. Getting the SV rooms there are difficult and the best chance to get them is owning there. However, as stated, RIV has resale restrictions that mean when you sell, the buyer can only use the points at RIV, which will reduce the potential pool of buyers wanting it...although, so far, its pretty popular and people are getting a decent price for a product so restricted. We own both resale and direct points there because we stay all the time.

VGF ends 6 years earlier, and has a slightly higher point chart. But, the dues are less. The 202 new resort studios could impact how easy or hard it will be to get larger rooms there so depending on what size room you would want to stay at, it may be an issue down the line.

Honestly, both are great resorts to have for a home base for trips there. Now, Aulani points will mean you can never book your WDW trip more than 7 months in advance. Depending on when you travel, and room size, that could be tough. If traveling mid September to mid January, plan on most likely being at SSR or OKW a lot. If that is fine, and you feel you would use the points at Aulani more often, than that could make that a good home resort.

It really comes down to what is important when you go to WDW. All have their pros!!!

 

[Her Dotness]

I agree you might want to wait to see what DLT looks like, given your location.

However, if you intend your initial purchase (and there will be more once addonitis infects you both ) to be for WDW stays, I agree that VGF will make a better bequest than RIV because of RIV's resale restrictions. Also, a very comfortable stay whether in the original building's "deluxe studios" or the soon-to-open "resort studios." (Yes, we own VGF and looooove it.)

Ahhhh, just saw your prior post--and will say "Perhaps."

The thing to be aware of is that unless you buy around 200 points for your initial home resort, you'll be points-poor for anything but a week in a studio at the most times of year. We know from sad experience.

We also know from experience that a 1 bedroom is by far more convenient and comfortable.

Look over points charts to gauge how many initial points will do you the most good if you've not already done so.

And, FYI, buying direct is far easier and faster than resale, plus the member discounts are nice even though not a huge advantage.

 

[RoseGold]

If you are in your 60s and plan to pass this to someone, the first thing I would do is get some legal advice. There are ways to do this that don't involve your estate having to probate land interests in Florida or Hawaii.

I looked seriously into buying a subsidized resale Aulani contract and decided against it because of the general status of timeshares in Hawaii. I wouldn't buy in Hawaii at all. That's just my opinion, you should do your own research and decide what you are comfortable owning.

I wouldn't buy something that forces your family to fly across the country. If you're DL people, but don't want to wait for the tower, honestly, I'd look at Grand Californian. Sure, it's super expensive, but it has held at super-expensive for a long time because of how special it is. And what a gem of a property. You change your mind, you sell. I also think DL Tower pricing could be surprisingly low. VGF sure was. Maybe that is worth waiting for.

Buying a direct RIV/VGF contract is a big commitment to go to WDW, and it sounds like that just isn't you right now.

 

[Her Dotness]

If you love Grand Floridian go with that one. You can also pretty much get any DVC you'd like direct if you're ok with the pricing. IF you want BLT Disney can make that happen, Poly, sure. It would just cost more than GF.

There's another potential drawback to direct-buying a resort not currently being sold.

While you can do that if willing to pay whatever Disney is asking, you may have to wait as long as nearly 6 months for Disney to have as many points as you want.

You'll be waitlisted, and once Disney offers, you have two weeks to decide, take it or leave it with no opportunity to try again. Although, that procedure may be different now, this is what it was when we bought VGF 5 years ago. It took only a couple months to get our offer.

So there is a distinct advantage to buying into one of the resorts currently being sold.

 

[Bucketfoot]

For points we are most likely looking at 200 to start.

Frankly if I was making the decision alone it would be VGF. We stayed at the GF for our fist WDW trip and really enjoyed it. Additionally the proximity to MK along with being on the monorail are huge positives for it.

I think both of us have large hesitations with RIV and the resale restrictions. So I think it will really come down to VGF or Aulani.

We also enjoyed our Aulani stay, but while I know it is away from Honolulu, you still have to fly in and out of there. Also, I just don't really care for Oahu. I've been going to Hawaii since the 60's and my preferences are Kauai and the Big Island. To me Aulani just doesn't make sense for us. So I'll have to bend the wife's ear on that

 

[Bucketfoot]

If you are in your 60s and plan to pass this to someone, the first thing I would do is get some legal advice. There are ways to do this that don't involve your estate having to probate land interests in Florida or Hawaii.

I looked seriously into buying a subsidized resale Aulani contract and decided against it because of the general status of timeshares in Hawaii. I wouldn't buy in Hawaii at all. That's just my opinion, you should do your own research and decide what you are comfortable owning.

I wouldn't buy something that forces your family to fly across the country. If you're DL people, but don't want to wait for the tower, honestly, I'd look at Grand Californian. Sure, it's super expensive, but it has held at super-expensive for a long time because of how special it is. And what a gem of a property. You change your mind, you sell. I also think DL Tower pricing could be surprisingly low. VGF sure was. Maybe that is worth waiting for.

Buying a direct RIV/VGF contract is a big commitment to go to WDW, and it sounds like that just isn't you right now.

I'll admit I don't know the accuracy of this, but from what my wife has been seeing she says that getting reservations at the Grand Californian is next to impossible in the 7 month window. Frankly the one thing we sometimes kick ourselves about is not buying GC when we could have.

 

[Sandisw]

For points we are most likely looking at 200 to start.

Frankly if I was making the decision alone it would be VGF. We stayed at the GF for our fist WDW trip and really enjoyed it. Additionally the proximity to MK along with being on the monorail are huge positives for it.

I think both of us have large hesitations with RIV and the resale restrictions. So I think it will really come down to VGF or Aulani.

We also enjoyed our Aulani stay, but while I know it is away from Honolulu, you still have to fly in and out of there. Also, I just don't really care for Oahu. I've been going to Hawaii since the 60's and my preferences are Kauai and the Big Island. To me Aulani just doesn't make sense for us. So I'll have to bend the wife's ear on that

You didn't mention when you want to travel to WDW (unless I missed it) but that may be something you share with your wife regarding 7 month booking and why having VGF would be better than AUL.

Also, if you are having reservations about the resale restrictions already, it is enough of a reason not to buy. We own both resale and direct there and really don't think they are a big deal, but I know others do and as I always say, DVC is too much $$$ to buy anything that gives you pause!!!

 

[Bucketfoot]

We do our Disney trips off-peak as much as we can. For example, right now we are looking at the possibility of a mid-late September WDW trip this year and last year we did a DL trip right after Halloween.

 

[RoseGold]

I'll admit I don't know the accuracy of this, but from what my wife has been seeing she says that getting reservations at the Grand Californian is next to impossible in the 7 month window. Frankly the one thing we sometimes kick ourselves about is not buying GC when we could have.

It's not completely impossible, but yea, it's really tough. The 1BR is wide open for the month at 7month + 1 day right now. The problem is getting that initial reservation in. Maybe DL Tower will help, maybe not.

You still can buy GC resale. You just use it at GC. You're going to DL anyway, so isn't that the point?

 

[Her Dotness]

I think both of us have large hesitations with RIV and the resale restrictions. So I think it will really come down to VGF or Aulani.

We also enjoyed our Aulani stay, but while I know it is away from Honolulu, you still have to fly in and out of there. Also, I just don't really care for Oahu. I've been going to Hawaii since the 60's and my preferences are Kauai and the Big Island. To me Aulani just doesn't make sense for us. So I'll have to bend the wife's ear on that

Then, go for VGF, perhaps adding DLT once pricing is released.

Since you both love the GF, that old saw fits you perfectly: Buy where you'll most want to stay. Except my variation is "Buy what you love most."

It still works for us at VGF, if only Disney will get our recently closed resale points added!

 

[RoseGold]

We also enjoyed our Aulani stay, but while I know it is away from Honolulu, you still have to fly in and out of there. Also, I just don't really care for Oahu. I've been going to Hawaii since the 60's and my preferences are Kauai and the Big Island. To me Aulani just doesn't make sense for us. So I'll have to bend the wife's ear on that

As a timeshare, Aulani has a troubled past, to be generous. I wouldn't buy in Hawaii at all, but if I were going to, it wouldn't be Aulani. There are many, many timeshare properties that are more focused on Hawaii than Disney. If you aren't in love with Aulani itself (or already live in Hawaii or got the Aulani firesale a few months ago), I don't see why you'd buy there.

All the major timeshares have nice properties in Hawaii and near WDW. You don't have to buy into Disney to do any of that.

 

[sldrake3]

Hello all, I've looked through quite a few threads and found answers to some of the question we had, but the one big one comes down to the current home resort options.

Assuming our base purchase would be direct from Disney what are the major advantages of VGF (which I assume is Villas at Grand Floridian) and RIV (again assuming to be Riviera?

Secondly, with there being better deals for Aulani (per what my wife has been seeing), what are the major negatives other than not being able to book out as far in advance for going with it as our home resort.

For a little background, we are older (late 50's & early 60's) with adult children (20's). DL is where we go most often, due to having family in the area, but doing this would likely mean more frequent trips to WDW. We have also stayed at Aulani and like to take Hawaii trips (just don't tend to prefer Oahu). If we do this, I would guess that we would typically do a WDW trip every other year and bank points to cover a longer stay or nicer room.

If you want to stay at Grand Floridian, definitely buy there. If you don't care, you can almost ALWAYS get okw or ssr at 7 months out. Personally I would buy the Aulani contract if it's cheaper. Make sure to factor in dues though, they add up quickly.