Thanks everyone! It’s helpful to hear your perspectives.
For more context - confirming I have a decent chunk of WDW direct (300 points) and will probably land closer to 500 when all is said and done. So I don’t need/plan on using these points - whether GCV or VDH - as SAP. Though to PP’s point, knowing I can if I had a stranded point or two is a nice benefit (or peace of mind
)
I also understand that in theory I can use my existing direct WDW points at both - this is what we did for this trip - used RIV points for our VDH stay (and waitlisted CGV). But I also don’t have a ton of confidence that I could do it regularly - especially since I won’t have a lot of flexibility with dates.
I recognize that 75 points isn’t a lot - but we would stay in studios and I don’t foresee us making it to CA more than every other year given the other traveling we do.
Last night I was leaning towards GCV and today I’m back to VDH…so we shall see where I land
Thanks again!!
Here's my perspective as a recent new owner:
We had a summer vacation this year in California. We spent a week at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas (we own a few deeded weeks at that resort - it's fabulous and all 2BR units) and also a couple of nights at VGC in a 1BR booked at 7 months out.
We had 4-day (70th anniversary) DL tickets since it was hard to pass on that pricing and experienced it both offsite and onsite. Driving from the Marriott resort was about 30 minutes and not bad at all. In fact,
that property was supposed to be DVC until Disney sold it to Marriott. But staying at VGC was obviously a more convenient and we loved the resort and unbeatable locatiuon.
In the past we've considered adding some point at VGC either resale or direct. We were looking at something that would cover 3-4 studio nights or 2 one-bedroom nights with every other year travel. I wasn't really able to find anything on the resale market in the right use year, with the right number of points, and at a price I was ok with given the status of the contract (usually at least partially or fully stripped) and eventually stopped looking. And I told our WDW guide we'd be open to direct but she never followed up on that (maybe it's harder for the WDW guides to get those points?)
Then on this trip we did a tour of a VDH unit at DL, and met a guide who was able to get us a small direct VGC contract the right size and use year within a couple of days! Maybe we got very lucky, or at least that's what a couple of other
DVC guides we later chatted with told us.
Yes, $330/pt hurts but here is how I rationalized it:
1) It's only about 20% more than resale... Paying $330 vs ~$270 is less painful
percentage-wise than paying $210 vs ~$150 for Poly for example (the latter direct contract being 40% more than resale)
2) That ~$270/pt small resale contract, if I ever found it, is more likely than not to be stripped. So that's probably an extra hidden cost that should be accounted for.
3) I'm saving ~$5/pt by getting full 2025 points and paying prorated dues, and direct closing costs of ~$350 are also much lower than resale (~$700) which adds up more $/pt savings with a small contract. These two line items are worth maybe $10/pt in actual savings vs resale.
4) With no restrictions and no nightly occupancy taxes, this resort should maintain value well into the 2040s, much like BCV does today. VDH direct was not even a consideration for me because the restrictions are a deal-breaker and I'd expect a much higher capital loss on a restrcited direct contract if sold in 20 years or less (we loved the model room though and would happily stay there).
5) Will I regret not doing it? - that was an obvious "yes" (especially with stock markets at all-time highs).
