GF direct over Riviera direct is a no brainer

[psc85]

We own both and love them both! The new BPK decision did push me to buying Riv instead of adding VGF though.

Forgot to add that we typically don't spend much time at MK maybe 1 full day for a 10 day trip? So paying a premium for the proximity to Magic Kingdom was really lost on us. But, that's what makes DVC so wonderful, there are so many choices.

 

[Yankee626]

To answer the OP's question, we bought direct at Riviera as new DVC members simply because Riviera is NOT the Grand Floridian. In our opinion it has the same elegance as the Grand without all of the baggage.

The cozy Riviera lobby doesn't turn into a fifth gate during the holiday season like the Grand Lobby does (ever see what that does to the Monorail queue?). ALSO, as far as we can tell, Riviera is one of the few Disney Resorts that has it's own dedicated bus stations, and doesn't seem to share with other resorts, unlike the Grand.....

I can go on, but it sounds like a lot of GF stans have an axe to grind with Rivera for merely existing, so it doesn't seem that I will change any minds sharing my 2 cents.

PS....we totally love the Skyliner as well, less mass transit vibes when compared to the monorail.

My main point was that I am against the Resale restrictions. I think the Riviera is fine . obviously I think the GF is better but to each his own. Did the guide tell you about the resale restrictions at all when you bought ?

 

[Yankee626]

People have not been paying that much on resale for VGF. Most are much lower….$160s these days. Sellers asking more than that are not getting it.

I stay at both, and can say RIV exceeds in all areas for us. But buying direct will always see a reduction until sold out.

Im sure the same for Riviera. What would you pay for a Riviera resale ?

 

[TraderStitch]

Mine talked about the restrictions. I read through all 40+ pages of the fine print with my wife before signing and I didn't see anything in there that stood out as being unreasonable.
Also, responsibility needs to be on the buyers as well. You are putting down a large amount of money and signing off for the next few decades of monetary payments; DVC should never be purchased on a whim. DVD doesn't do the hard sell and gives you plenty of time to crunch the numbers / research on your own. Having gone to a few other time share weekends, I practically had to fight them off to leave without buying lol.

Just looking at the DVC Fan FB page, it gets a bit annoying at times by the basic questions people ask. Honestly, if you don't understand Use Year or the 11 month/7 month window... why did you buy? Research research research!

 

[Sandisw]

Im sure the same for Riviera. What would you pay for a Riviera resale ?

I paid $152/pt last year for my resale contract.

When you buy RIV direct, there is a special paper you sign that outlines the restrictions…it’s the same one that is part of the POS…so even if a guide does not mention them, you can’t buy without actually acknowledging them.

So, no buyer buys without understanding it’s there. The thing is that many of us who have bought RIV simply don’t care about the resale value enough to not own there…..we bought to enjoy using our DVC and not resale value, so restrictions don’t bother me at all.

 

[Yankee626]

I paid $152/pt last year for my resale contract.

Wow ! Do you feel you overpaid for that ? A few bucks more you could have bought it Direct. Im thinking around the $110 range would be fair.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Mine talked about the restrictions. I read through all 40+ pages of the fine print with my wife before signing and I didn't see anything in there that stood out as being unreasonable.
Also, responsibility needs to be on the buyers as well. You are putting down a large amount of money and signing off for the next few decades of monetary payments; DVC should never be purchased on a whim. DVD doesn't do the hard sell and gives you plenty of time to crunch the numbers / research on your own. Having gone to a few other time share weekends, I practically had to fight them off to leave without buying lol.

Just looking at the DVC Fan FB page, it gets a bit annoying at times by the basic questions people ask. Honestly, if you don't understand Use Year or the 11 month/7 month window... why did you buy? Research research research!

Preach amigo!

But yes this x1000. I think I both scared and put my guide at ease with the amount of pre-work research I had done about DVC and I knew (and complained about) the RVA restrictions the entire time I was doing our deal with him. I tell him almost every time we chat to just keep doing the little that I can do to try and sway Disney to change their mind about them. I have hope

I'm still a bit surprised there is still so much VGF vs RVA back and forth on here. Both are awesome resorts. We just fell in love with RVA more and I could not tell @MrsNVDISFamily no......

 

[Sandisw]

Wow ! Do you feel you overpaid for that ? A few bucks more you could have bought it Direct. Im thinking around the $110 range would be fair.

Nope, not at all. I saved $6K over direct at the time and we stay at RIV each and every trip so it was a no brainer to go that way. We already had 175 direct points…this just added to it.

We always split stay and have points to stay at VGF…as well as SSR to supplement.…all good to use at RIV.

I actually bought a BLT contract in 2020 that couldn’t be used there and sold a year later because it could not be used there…

The resort is popular and I think those that have bought it, direct or resale, love it enough that it outweighs the restections…it’s why I think it is done better on the resale market than many of us predicted,

I said I would not pay more than $50/pt before I visited…then I did and it all changed. Lol

 

[NVDISFamily]

I said I would not pay more than $50/pt before I visited…then I did and it all changed. Lol

This is the way.

As I've said already a few times on this thread. I went to WDW in the intention of buying a few hundred points at VGF. Made the mistake of allowing our family to tour RVA. It was game over. I also have a similar goal of having split stays most trips. CCV is our MK area playground and RVA is EPCOT area. But for sure VGF is on the top of my list to try and swap out to at 7 months to try them all over the years

 

[TraderStitch]

Wow ! Do you feel you overpaid for that ? A few bucks more you could have bought it Direct. Im thinking around the $110 range would be fair.

How are you arriving at that number, other than personal preferences? The market will dictate what the points go for. Looking at the Resale market, Riviera has the second lowest amount of contracts available as I type this.

I can tell you right now, once my direct contract is paid off, I'm buying another 200 pts resale. We will always want to stay at Riviera; having the direct and resale points as well will either give us longer stays or nicer rooms... with the option to still stay at other resorts.

 

[Sandisw]

This is the way.

As I've said already a few times on this thread. I went to WDW in the intention of buying a few hundred points at VGF. Made the mistake of allowing our family to tour RVA. It was game over. I also have a similar goal of having split stays most trips. CCV is our MK area playground and RVA is EPCOT area. But for sure VGF is on the top of my list to try and swap out to at 7 months to try them all over the years

I agree and DVC is just too much $$$ to avoid a resort you love just because you may lose resale value down the line.

But that is what is so great about DVC…so many different resorts for so many people. I can’t believe that others are paying what they are for 2042 resorts because in 19 years, they will be worth $0…yet, people love them enough that it’s worth it!

 

[Jimmy Geppetto]

This is the way.

As I've said already a few times on this thread. I went to WDW in the intention of buying a few hundred points at VGF. Made the mistake of allowing our family to tour RVA. It was game over. I also have a similar goal of having split stays most trips. CCV is our MK area playground and RVA is EPCOT area. But for sure VGF is on the top of my list to try and swap out to at 7 months to try them all over the years

It really is a beautiful resort. We bought GFV points in March after our stay there and my wife was in love with it. Fast forward to our last trip just three weeks ago, where we visited RIV... GFV dropped to the #2 spot for her. And now she wants updates on fall incentives to see if they are better for RIV.

 

[NVDISFamily]

It really is a beautiful resort. We bought GFV points in March after our stay there and my wife was in love with it. Fast forward to our last trip just three weeks ago, where we visited RIV... GFV dropped to the #2 spot for her. And now she wants updates on fall incentives to see if they are better for RIV.

You are in trouble my friend (but a good kind of trouble). I totally see myself doing the same but perhaps in the opposite direction. If my career path stays on track I could see myself getting 300 to 400 points at VGF some day.... Got to get more CCV points first......

I could see member pricing at the 300+ point level going back to the mid/high 160s again. 164 a point for direct points that last until 2070 was very tempting for us and also added to the + column for RVA.

 

[Yankee626]

How are you arriving at that number, other than personal preferences? The market will dictate what the points go for. Looking at the Resale market, Riviera has the second lowest amount of contracts available as I type this.

I can tell you right now, once my direct contract is paid off, I'm buying another 200 pts resale. We will always want to stay at Riviera; having the direct and resale points as well will either give us longer stays or nicer rooms... with the option to still stay at other resorts.

Hey I stayed at the Riviera too but used my CCV points to do it. I bought Direct at GFV also so I will use those points once in a while to stay at the RIV . So I have no restrictions on my points yet stay at the same resort you do.

 

[TraderStitch]

That's fine as any DVC member should be able to do who bought direct, but how do you arrive at the $110 resale value?
I'd just like to see your financial criteria that back up the claim is all. I feel Riviera haters just want it to fail because of the restrictions or it isn't VGF.

 

[UofMGuy423]

Well, we toured VGF 2 weeks ago and loved it. Contacted my Sales Guide to add some VGF points and ended up adding more Riviera points last night instead with my daughter's cast member discount! We'll plan to stay at VGF for a split stay when possible and just book at 7 months. We couldn't resist adding more Riviera points with the same UY and benefiting from the 2021 "bonus" points, which VGF doesn't have.

 

[Sandisw]

Hey I stayed at the Riviera too but used my CCV points to do it. I bought Direct at GFV also so I will use those points once in a while to stay at the RIV . So I have no restrictions on my points yet stay at the same resort you do.

As long as one is okay with getting PV on their trips, owning elsewhere for those occasional stays works.

But, the best chance for SV, especially if you travel during the busy DVC times is to own there….for us, home resort is key and why it is worth it to know we can get RIV vs. risk 7 months.

 

[psc85]

My main point was that I am against the Resale restrictions. I think the Riviera is fine . obviously I think the GF is better but to each his own. Did the guide tell you about the resale restrictions at all when you bought ?

The guide did, and it wasn't a concern, as a new DVC member at leas. We followed the motto of purchasing where we wanted to stay, resale was not and is not really a concern.

 

[J-Dog]

The guide did, and it wasn't a concern, as a new DVC member at leas. We followed the motto of purchasing where we wanted to stay, resale was not and is not really a concern.

Yes. Same here.

About 4 years ago, we built our house. The whole time, we got "opinions" from many different people about things like paint color, design features, etc, that they thought that we should consider, because it might help with "resale value" in the future. I kept telling them that we're spending our life savings and blood, sweat and tears on this project - I'm not selling the damn thing!

That's kind of how I feel about RIV as well.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Where do you get your data? Can you cite a source, or is it just intuition?

Based on reported data DVC Resale Market linked below, the VGF high over the past year was 198 with most months in 190s and a few in 180s 170s. There were no months in 160s and if you take the average it's nearly 190 over the past year. It's important to give proper information to folks, if a family has to sell rapid an emergency, they stand to take massive losses at RIV vs VGF.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/dvc-resale-average-sales-prices-for-june-2022/

No one would dispute that it WAS in the 190’s prior to going back into active sales.

You did say 190-200 “still” though. Which is not the case.

I recently closed on a resale VGF I bought in the 140’s.