Guaranteed week at Riviera

[muppets3d]

I bought a favorite week at Grand Floridian but not because I feel like it would help me with resale. We bought it because it's a week we know we want to travel and like the convenience. I don't see how it would help with resale.

What if I am looking for a resale Riviera contract, but your favorite week is a week I don't want to travel? Then I have to go through the hassle (such as it is) to opt out of the week every year. I'd rather just buy a different contract.

People say that once lots of Riviera resale contracts get mixed in, it'll hurt availability because those points can only be used at Riviera. I don't see that either. Do people just forget about the home resort priority window of 7-11 months - where your points can only be used at your home resort? The program hasn't collapsed because of that.

It's your money and your time. I think it's a waste of both. Each to their own!

 

[Lorana]

We ended up doing similarly. My DH actually talked me into adding on more at RIV during the DVC Charter to Lighthouse; with MB we got to $171/point.

I was going to do 2 75-point contracts; easier to downsize and we have two children we intend to pass along to (whether they keep or sell is up to them). However, we decided to do a fixed week, as similarly we hoped it would help if we ever needed to sell, and we do already have 4 small point contacts at RIV if we need to downsize.

We ended up going with Week 46, though we do already own week 47 & 48 at Copper Creek. This still hits Food & Wine Festival, and most years is the week before Thanksgiving. Some years it is Thanksgiving. Our rationale was more for our travel: once we do get to the point we might go to Disney over Thanksgiving longer than a week, being able to go down a week before we meet up with family to enjoy the parks ourselves and avoid the cost of flying Thanksgiving week will be appreciated. Our hope is that because it is either F&W or Thanksgiving it will have appeal if we ever sell.

Now we also have Week 44 with the runDisney benefits (they no longer offer this) and the sometimes Halloween and always runDisney & Food & Wine is a huge draw for us, so I agree with that. After 2042, RIV will be in demand for Food & Wine.

Otherwise we were with you at also looking at Week 7. Most years it falls on Presidents Day week, which here in MA is February Vacation week. While my youngest is entering his senior year, most of my friends had their kids later, so I have lots of friends kids I can spoil for years to come. And who knows, maybe I’ll have grandkids some days. It also means most years it falls on the Princess runs, if runDisney is a consideration for you.

We are debating when Poly comes out whether to buy a FW at the Tower, but then the debate for us is Week 49 or Week 7, or even Week 45 to give ourselves the stretch of Week 44 to 48 (as we own 44, 46, 47, 48 but not 45). DH points out we could do Week 43 and get a 2 week stretch that includes Halloween (we do love MNSSHP) and Food & Wine & runDisney, lol. In the alternate years we aren’t doing Thanksgiving at Disney with family; we could alternate and do Halloween, Food & Wine and runDisney. Decisions, decisions! Of course at this rate they’ll never announce Poly so it won’t matter. ;-)

I wish I knew if they were going to do Reflections / River Country Lodge, because if so, that’s what we’d buy Week 49! Or maybe week 50. I do keep debating week 52 but I’m not sure I can ever convince my DH to spend a week in Disney again with those crowds. ;-)

I am sort of amused that most of our FWs are in the fall when our retirement plan is actually to spend 4-6 weeks Jan to Mar in Disney to avoid New England winters. ;-) but fall/Christmas is when we most love to be at Disney.

 

[Mikey15]

when our retirement plan is actually to spend 4-6 weeks Jan to Mar in Disney to avoid New England winters. ;-) but fall/Christmas is when we most love to be at Disney.

I can relate to this very much.

Our non-Disney, but still Central FL, timeshare is flexible but nominally Weeks 44 & 45, and fall / pre-Christmas is our favourite time to go. But Jan/Feb is when it’s quieter at work, and the snow’s falling and cold wind blowing. Long-term (retirement is 10-16 years away for us) I know we’ll want to be wintering down south instead.

 

[Lorana]

I can relate to this very much.

Our non-Disney, but still Central FL, timeshare is flexible but nominally Weeks 44 & 45, and fall / pre-Christmas is our favourite time to go. But Jan/Feb is when it’s quieter at work, and the snow’s falling and cold wind blowing. Long-term (retirement is 10-16 years away for us) I know we’ll want to be wintering down south instead.

Retirement for me is at least 15-20 years for me, but a girl can dream. ;-)

I have no desire to move south but escaping for a month or more in the winter definitely is desirable!