First Time/DVC-Curious

[Sean81995]

Hi all, nice to e-meet everyone...

I'm looking into potentially purchasing a Disney Vacation Club contract. I've done a bunch of research, but am honestly not sure if it's right for me and would love some guidance. A bit about my situation: I have gone to Disney World several times when I was a kid (loved it) and am hoping to share similar experiences with my son, who's just an infant. My wife and I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge right after we got married 6 and a half years ago and loved it. I'm almost 40 and she's in her mid-30s. We live driving distance from Disneyland and would love to take some long weekend trips there, but the main reason I'm looking into purchasing is for WDW and the fact that our family is on the East Coast and would love to do some larger trips there in the coming years. Over the past 15 or so years, our work vacation windows have really been around the December holidays... and I imagine the kid will have that time off from school too. We hope to have another child if we're lucky, and one of the appeals of DVC from what I can see is the ability to stay in accommodations with multiple rooms/beds/bathrooms. Would really target 1- or 2-bedrooms for our stays.

As much as we love Disney, we don't want that to be our only type of vacation. Would think of doing a WDW trip every other year or every third year once the boy is 2 or 3 (clearly planning early here) and a short Disneyland trip perhaps in the years we don't go to WDW. Also maybe Aulani, which my wife and I have been to but prefer other Hawaiian vacations to. I also might want to sell the contract if the kids "grow out" of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars (a possibility, even though I never really did). In terms of preferred hotels at WDW, we love Animal Kingdom Lodge but also would love to try Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Would love to try Grand Californian as well (which I heard is tough to get into if you don't own directly there) and Disneyland Hotel out here.

Given all this information, I'd love advice on the following:

1. Does my situation sound like a match for DVC?
2. If so, and if I plan to stay late December, what resort might be a good buy given my preferences? Resale/direct, etc.?
3. How do banking and borrowing points work and how much flexibility is there with that? I imagine I'd do it a bunch if I bought in.
4. What tools are there that I can use to measure what kind of purchase can be a good buy for me?
5. I understand there is a 7-month booking window for hotels that aren't the home resort. Are there folks on here who know if 1- and 2-bedrooms are easy or hard to get at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah view/ideally Jambo House), Wilderness Lodge (either section), Grand Floridian, Grand Californian, and Disneyland Hotel around the holidays?

Would appreciate any and all advice on this. Thank you!

 

[Mle8308]

Good luck with your decision, it's hard! I can't answer most of your questions, but I can tell you that booking WL around Christmas for DVC is very difficult, especially if you are looking for a studio, if you don't own there. It's beautiful, the first few weeks of December are very popular times for DVC - for any resort.

 

[Sandisw]

Welcome! Lots of great questions.

First, if you want flexibility to use points at both DL and WDW, your only choice is direct or resale VGC. Resale points purchased today at the other resorts are not good at VDH, except resale VDH...and those are only good at VDH. RIV resale is only good at RIV and CFW (the new cabins) when they show up resale, will only be good at CFW.

Going every three years can be a bit risky because if something happens, you could lose points. You are allowed to bank points forward one year and borrow a year ahead, so you can have three years of points for one trip. However, DVC has the right to amend the % of points allowed to be banked/borrowed, and did so in 2020 when the closure happened. While that is not something that would probably happen without a situation like that, you do need to be aware it could and go in having a back up plan.

In terms of home resort, AKV, due to its size of both Jambo and Kidani, are certainly much easier to get at 7 months than other ones. But, December is a very busy DVC time (especially the first two weeks) and booking your home resort at 11 months will be important. You may or may not have success trading to the places you want.

I will add that we bought VGF points in 2022 because we want to stay there and we wanted the bigger rooms. Prior to them adding all the resort studios, getting 1 bedrooms at 7 months, for the few nights we wanted them...RIV is our favorite and we split stay with that and VGF almost every trip....was fairly easy with our SSR points. Now, those larger rooms are not as easy to get as a non owner.

VGC is another one that is hard to get many times of the year as a non owner...people buy VGC points to use there. And, CCV/BRV is another one that home resort is crucial for December stays.

The bigger hurdle is needing to buy direct and the prices for some of the sold out resorts. The are currently running some sales on BLT, SSR, and AKV, and so the AKV might be a good place to start as it gives you WDW and those can be used at VDH as well.

In terms of resale? I think that as long as the parks exist there will be a way to sell your DVC. However, IMO, I would not consider resale value as part of your decision. We did not and consider anything we might get when/if we sell to be a bonus.

I think you could make DVC work for you, if you decided to go on an every other year plan for either WDW and DL, but tough one for an every third year.

Good luck!

 

[Instagramhusband]

You have come to the right place for that info.

1. Yes but I think nailing it down to a home resort may be hard for you given that your only experience was AKV. Maybe renting some DVC points for your first WDW trip may make a lot of sense for you. With young kids, proximity to parks may be a priority for you to max out, your time there.
2. Direct sounds like the way for you based on the fact you want maximum types of use from your purchase and the restrictions resales have. That of course limits you home resort wise a little.
3. How often are you making a trip? Every 2 years or every 3 years? This can matter a lot or a little depending on your use year contract and your travel preferences. Banking definitely is how you can maximize the points you need for the larger trips, borrowing is just as easy.
4. You could start by just checking the point charts for the time of year you want to stay at the preferred home resorts you like. If a resale were a better option for you, then there are a lot more resources that help determine best value but I think given what you have said buying direct makes more sense.
5. When to book

The link above tells you the demand and availability on normal levels.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[kilik64]

1. Yup

2. You'll want to get direct for maximum flexibility, the other option is resale but for you doesnt sound like a great fit between wanting to have use at disneyland and wdw. Direct is gonna be the worst option for selling later, go in know you are not going to get what you bought for (those days are long gone), resale you can most likely sell right around what you buy in for depending on resort and when you sell. As far as what resort you want to get, up to you. Poly tower should go in sale in the next few months and might be a good fit, RIV is on sale currently with some ok deals.

3. They go by use year, depending on what use year you have dictates when you have to bank by. We have feb use year so banking deadline is 9/30. Since you're primary time to visit will be dec, youll want either Oct or Dec as yours. The caveat with banking and borrowing is that if you end up doing so you have a trip every 3rd year, if you wind up cancelling you could be stuck with points that are going to expire. Id just rent your confirmed res at that point. Currently you can bank and borrow 100% of points, but be warned this can change, they limited it during covid for instance.

4. I'd just look at what you want mainly and see how many points that is and go from there.

5. 1br are typically the last to go, with 2 bedroom being right there as well. It depends however on the resort, BWV is all lock off so the 2br are harder to get as when studios go, so does 2br and studios book first and fastest. Any resort with 2brd dedicated generally has good availability at 7 months. To get an idea you can look at a historical booking chart such as this https://www.dvchelp.com/page/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani-village-availability-charts
December is what is considered a part of fall frenzy for DVC, starting in Oct, its the busiest and hardest time of year to book. You can definitely get things at 7months, but you might need to be extra flexible on where you stay.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

JMO, I would say no, because if you do every 3 years that's 3 years of maintenance cost that you have to add into that 1 trip and once you do that it would probably be cheaper to pay OOP. With OOP you will have a much better resort availability and not need to hope you get what you want at the 11 month window (which will only be at your home resort) and if you wanted a different resort then you have to wait until the 7 month window opens and for December all I can say is good luck. With OOP you are not limited to a home resort, there have always been resort discounts leading up to Christmas day, See below. You do not have to manage your points during the off years and you do not have to spend $20+k at the beginning. You mentioned 1-2 Bdrm, so the number of points needed jump up a lot and you will need to calculate the points needed etc. Also, one of the best advice I remembered was that if you have to take out a loan, then you should not do it. You really have to calculate your break even point, and at a trip every 2-3 years, that may be awhile. It is really good that you are starting to do your homework.
Get 10% off (15% off for most stays December 9 – 25):

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• Deluxe Villa: Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Villas, Old Key West, Riviera, Saratoga Springs, Villas at Grand Floridian

 

[AstroBlasters]

Hi all, nice to e-meet everyone...

I'm looking into potentially purchasing a Disney Vacation Club contract. I've done a bunch of research, but am honestly not sure if it's right for me and would love some guidance. A bit about my situation: I have gone to Disney World several times when I was a kid (loved it) and am hoping to share similar experiences with my son, who's just an infant. My wife and I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge right after we got married 6 and a half years ago and loved it. I'm almost 40 and she's in her mid-30s. We live driving distance from Disneyland and would love to take some long weekend trips there, but the main reason I'm looking into purchasing is for WDW and the fact that our family is on the East Coast and would love to do some larger trips there in the coming years. Over the past 15 or so years, our work vacation windows have really been around the December holidays... and I imagine the kid will have that time off from school too. We hope to have another child if we're lucky, and one of the appeals of DVC from what I can see is the ability to stay in accommodations with multiple rooms/beds/bathrooms. Would really target 1- or 2-bedrooms for our stays.

As much as we love Disney, we don't want that to be our only type of vacation. Would think of doing a WDW trip every other year or every third year once the boy is 2 or 3 (clearly planning early here) and a short Disneyland trip perhaps in the years we don't go to WDW. Also maybe Aulani, which my wife and I have been to but prefer other Hawaiian vacations to. I also might want to sell the contract if the kids "grow out" of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars (a possibility, even though I never really did). In terms of preferred hotels at WDW, we love Animal Kingdom Lodge but also would love to try Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Would love to try Grand Californian as well (which I heard is tough to get into if you don't own directly there) and Disneyland Hotel out here.

Given all this information, I'd love advice on the following:

1. Does my situation sound like a match for DVC?
2. If so, and if I plan to stay late December, what resort might be a good buy given my preferences? Resale/direct, etc.?
3. How do banking and borrowing points work and how much flexibility is there with that? I imagine I'd do it a bunch if I bought in.
4. What tools are there that I can use to measure what kind of purchase can be a good buy for me?
5. I understand there is a 7-month booking window for hotels that aren't the home resort. Are there folks on here who know if 1- and 2-bedrooms are easy or hard to get at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah view/ideally Jambo House), Wilderness Lodge (either section), Grand Floridian, Grand Californian, and Disneyland Hotel around the holidays?

Would appreciate any and all advice on this. Thank you!

I’ll let others fill in the details, but my guess is that the conclusion most will come to is that it would make sense for you to buy a direct Disneyland Hotel contract.

Resale contracts for other resorts won’t work at Disneyland hotel, but a direct Disneyland hotel will work everywhere within 7m.

If you are looking at 1 bedrooms, then Animal Kingdom, Grand Floridan, Wilderness Lodge should have something at 7m.

Aulani should be fine outside of summer and holidays.

Grand Cal is not likely, but if you live local then you can stalk the site and see if it pops up for a couple of days when someone drops. 1 bedrooms have the highest chance.

Little to no chance of getting into either Disneyland property around the holidays outside of home resort window…. but being local gives you a huge advantage since you don’t need to schedule plane flights and can just waitlist/stalk.

 

[intamin]

Based on you wanting to go only every other to every 3 years, it's giving me some pause on whether or not you'll really get the full value out of owning this product. Most members were already going to WDW regularly and knew for a fact that they would be back.

If you are going to purchase, I would go resale in your case for sure. You won't able to book Disneyland Hotel but you can always pay cash for a room at Grand Cal or across the street if necessary. Doesn't sound like you'll benefit from Moonlight Magic or annual passes since you're going in December predominantly. Also with your uncertainty of whether or not you'll continue to go, you will take less of a loss if you go resale instead of direct should you decide to sell.

With regards to the resort, you could do resale AKV, CCV or SSR. CCV is amazing during Christmas but also those rooms are most popular during that time because of the decorations but 1BRs should be fine during 11 months. Just keep in mind that CCV's 1BRs only hold 4.

I would still consider renting over owning in your case though. The benefits of renting points is you essentially get home resort priority into every resort and you have flexibility to go as often or as infrequent as you please. When you're an owner, you at the bare minimum go every 3 years, preferably every other year in order to avoid stranding points.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Based on you wanting to go only every other to every 3 years, it's giving me some pause on whether or not you'll really get the full value out of owning this product. Most members were already going to WDW regularly and knew for a fact that they would be back.

If you are going to purchase, I would go resale in your case for sure. You won't able to book Disneyland Hotel but you can always pay cash for a room at Grand Cal or across the street if necessary. Doesn't sound like you'll benefit from Moonlight Magic or annual passes since you're going in December predominantly. Also with your uncertainty of whether or not you'll continue to go, you will take less of a loss if you go resale instead of direct should you decide to sell.

With regards to the resort, you could do resale AKV, CCV or SSR. CCV is amazing during Christmas but also those rooms are most popular during that time because of the decorations but 1BRs should be fine during 11 months. Just keep in mind that CCV's 1BRs only hold 4.

I would still consider renting over owning in your case though. The benefits of renting points is you essentially get home resort priority into every resort and you have flexibility to go as often or as frequent as you please. When you're an owner, you at the bare minimum go every 3 years, preferably every other year in order to avoid stranding points.

I agree with this - or at least rent for a few years to see if you go as planned. Who knows - you may end up going more often!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Based on you wanting to go only every other to every 3 years, it's giving me some pause on whether or not you'll really get the full value out of owning this product. Most members were already going to WDW regularly and knew for a fact that they would be back.

Agree! There is a lot of risk in an every 3 years plan. I’d wait and see if you get in a pattern of travel that warrants a DVC purchase.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Your first question is probably the most important. I'd say it really depends. If you are thinking of buying a small amount of points with the intention of banking/borrowing to go every 3 years, that's risky, and IMO not particularly worthwhile given the up front investment and the long term obligation to pay dues. If you are thinking of buying enough points to have to use in any given year, with the idea that you'll rent out or trade out the points for years in which you don't go, that could be a little bit smarter, assuming that you can rent at least enough to pay your dues. But of course that comes with extra work in renting out your points, plus a tax obligation.

 

[MartyParty]

Hi all, nice to e-meet everyone...

I'm looking into potentially purchasing a Disney Vacation Club contract. I've done a bunch of research, but am honestly not sure if it's right for me and would love some guidance. A bit about my situation: I have gone to Disney World several times when I was a kid (loved it) and am hoping to share similar experiences with my son, who's just an infant. My wife and I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge right after we got married 6 and a half years ago and loved it. I'm almost 40 and she's in her mid-30s. We live driving distance from Disneyland and would love to take some long weekend trips there, but the main reason I'm looking into purchasing is for WDW and the fact that our family is on the East Coast and would love to do some larger trips there in the coming years. Over the past 15 or so years, our work vacation windows have really been around the December holidays... and I imagine the kid will have that time off from school too. We hope to have another child if we're lucky, and one of the appeals of DVC from what I can see is the ability to stay in accommodations with multiple rooms/beds/bathrooms. Would really target 1- or 2-bedrooms for our stays.

As much as we love Disney, we don't want that to be our only type of vacation. Would think of doing a WDW trip every other year or every third year once the boy is 2 or 3 (clearly planning early here) and a short Disneyland trip perhaps in the years we don't go to WDW. Also maybe Aulani, which my wife and I have been to but prefer other Hawaiian vacations to. I also might want to sell the contract if the kids "grow out" of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars (a possibility, even though I never really did). In terms of preferred hotels at WDW, we love Animal Kingdom Lodge but also would love to try Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. Would love to try Grand Californian as well (which I heard is tough to get into if you don't own directly there) and Disneyland Hotel out here.

Given all this information, I'd love advice on the following:

1. Does my situation sound like a match for DVC?
2. If so, and if I plan to stay late December, what resort might be a good buy given my preferences? Resale/direct, etc.?
3. How do banking and borrowing points work and how much flexibility is there with that? I imagine I'd do it a bunch if I bought in.
4. What tools are there that I can use to measure what kind of purchase can be a good buy for me?
5. I understand there is a 7-month booking window for hotels that aren't the home resort. Are there folks on here who know if 1- and 2-bedrooms are easy or hard to get at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah view/ideally Jambo House), Wilderness Lodge (either section), Grand Floridian, Grand Californian, and Disneyland Hotel around the holidays?

Would appreciate any and all advice on this. Thank you!

So excited for you and your family. Wish we had bought in when our kiddos were that young.

I’ll start with an observation. Lots of us said our plan was a trip every 2 or 3 years (us included) but that’s not what happens once you get your points. And since you live driving distance to DL you may find yourself doing more frequent trips when the itch happens. Maybe a long weekend Thursday thru Sunday.

As for other vacations outside of Disney, you can always rent your points for cash, pays for the annual dues, and have some pocket change left over.

Last, based on what you described I’ll give you my opinion since you asked.

1st choice buy VDH direct or VGC direct IF you can get it.
2nd AKL direct. Some incentives going on. Not nearly as cheap as resale but at least you’ll a) be able to book AKL for Christmas b) book VDH in addition to VGC in California.
3rd VGC resale. You won’t be able to book VDH but with a 11 month booking window at VGC you’ll be able to get a room for December. But you’ll need to be disciplined at 11 month bookings.

The above assumes flexibility is the priority over cost. If bottom line cost is the goal/need, then resale will be something to consider. AKL is a wonderful resale resort, reasonable dues, and the price per point competitive.

Good luck.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Someone who lives driving distance from Disneyland is not going to use DVC only once every 3 years.

Especially if they already enjoy Disney, have a small child, and plan to have another child in the future.

Staying on Disney property is such a vastly different experience from driving to Disneyland as a day trip.

All of the Walt Disney World stuff is just a fringe benefit.

 

[intamin]

Someone who lives driving distance from Disneyland is not going to use DVC only once every 3 years.

Especially if they already enjoy Disney, have a small child, and plan to have another child in the future.

Staying on Disney property is such a vastly different experience from driving to Disneyland as a day trip.

All of the Walt Disney World stuff is just a fringe benefit.

I feel like we need to know a little bit more.. are we talking driving distance like 3-4 hours? Or driving distance like 15-45 minutes? Because if he lives really close then is it really necessary? If OP simply does want to stay on Disneyland property regularly regardless then sure direct VDH can make sense but also it'd require OP to book 7+ months out. I suppose since he's on these boards it's safe to assume he does want to stay on property if possible so it comes down to OP's booking habits. It sounds like he plans to use it for holiday weekends for 3 day weekends so he could just preemptively book around those.

He does specifically say though "the main reason I'm looking into purchasing is for WDW and the fact that our family is on the East Coast and would love to do some larger trips there in the coming years" in which case I would say you do NOT need to buy VDH for that and can save yourself a lot more money on the resale market if you buy a CCV or AKV. OP, if you decide that DVC ownership is for you, you need to weigh how important staying on property at Disneyland is to you. If you care about staying at Disneyland regularly then buy VDH. If you're primarily interested in staying at WDW and can do without Disneyland then the resale world is your oyster and you will take less of a financial hit if you sell.

 

[kanerf]

Well the minimum to get the blue card and perks is 150 points direct. In your situation, going every two or three years, that would be 300 - 450 points for a trip. While it is not hard to spend that many points you are looking at an out-lay of around $33,000 at current rates for some of the newer resorts and not taking into and not taking advantage of some of the various discounts. Of course you could go budget and just buy a resale for 50 points or so and have 100-150 points to spend during the every two or three year vacation. You won't get the perks, but it will be a lot less money and you can always buy that 150 points later.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Someone who lives driving distance from Disneyland is not going to use DVC only once every 3 years.

Especially if they already enjoy Disney, have a small child, and plan to have another child in the future.

Staying on Disney property is such a vastly different experience from driving to Disneyland as a day trip.

All of the Walt Disney World stuff is just a fringe benefit.

Maybe the corollary is that someone who lives driving distance from DL might not be the sort to plan 7-11 mths ahead for their varied long weekend trips. Also, I had the impression that VDH 1-2BRs are hard to book and even those are booked pretty quickly at VGC at the 7 mth mark if not earlier. I'm not convinced VDH is the right choice for OP based on the information in his post.

 

[CastAStone]

1. Does my situation sound like a match for DVC?

Not really. I would suggest renting points when you want to stay in larger accommodations. Going that infrequently is unlikely to generate enough long term savings to justify the investment, hassle, and downside risk of DVC.

 

[BuzzLightyr]

December is a busy time. I would suggest a fixed week to avoid not being able to book the days you want.

I would get a 2 bedroom fixed week and use it for family vacations and rent it out the years you don't use it.

If you go every other year. Your rental income should roughly offset your dues (rental income roughly 2x dues).

Also consider OKW grand villas, they are very reasonable on the point chart and have plenty of space for family coming together. Transportation is less ideal, but think of the point savings (point x $20-25) can pay for a lot of Minnie Vans (special Lyft vehicles with direct access to magic kingdom with car seats).

Also overlooked is Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary. With young kids, being close to Magic Kingdom is a big draw and outweighs some of the themeing criticisms.

 

[intamin]

Not really. I would suggest renting points when you want to stay in larger accommodations. Going that infrequently is unlikely to generate enough long term savings to justify the investment, hassle, and downside risk of DVC.

Yeahhh for as infrequently as OP is wanting to go.. I don't think the loss of flexibility is worth the investment and downside of DVC. You can rent DVC and invest the money that would've gone into a contract into a HYSA or a mutual index fund and probably come out pretty close with as few trips as OP wants to do. Also, December is one of the most popular times to go, if you can't burn through all of your points at WDW that one time because stuff is booked up your every 3 year plan falls through. I mean it's unlikely that NOTHING is available but OP may not be staying at his desired resorts. Most people's breakeven occurs after 8-13 years of owning going annually obviously based on a variety of different factors (resale vs. direct, home resort, dues etc.) and OP will only have gone on 5-7 trips in the next 15 years.. I don't know it doesn't seem worth

 

[Sean81995]

Thank you all for your thorough and varied responses!

A bit more information: We live 40 minutes to 2 hours from Disneyland (SoCal traffic is fun!) and I imagine our first few trips with the boy will be longer weekends since Disneyland is a lot and he might need a nap (as I might as I get older...). The way I was thinking about DVC, book a WDW trip for once every couple of years but if plans fall through for some reason, use points at Disneyland.

One of you mentioned that renting out points have tax implications for the owner. I don't own rental properties but this makes sense and is something I might need to look into if I were to amp up this search. My CPA told me in the past that rental income is deductible but I need to check about that. I was actually going to ask: how difficult is it to rent points to someone else? How far in advance do you rent those points out? What's the average rate of return? Does it change significantly if we're talking Animal Kingdom vs. Copper Creek vs. Disneyland Hotel vs. Grand Californian vs. Grand Floridian as a home resort?

One thing that seems clear from your collective responses is that I'm not quite ready yet and need to gauge how frequently we travel to WDW (and maybe Disneyland). The one thing I do see, however, is that my ideal method of purchasing might be direct at Animal Kingdom since I can stay at Disneyland Hotel and they seem to have a competitive incentive at the moment. Another question is: how common or uncommon is this type of incentive? Might it come back -- or something like it -- in the next couple years?

Thanks again for all your feedback!