How many points today to futureproof against direct resort restrictions over the next 40 years?

[RWeThereYetJJ]

If I want to stay at all DVC resorts (current and future resorts) over the next 40 years and plan to spend 3 weeks per year (1 in winter, 1 in spring, and 1 in fall) in a deluxe studio, what percentage of direct vs resale points should I own? I would plan to stay at a different resort each week of the year.

 

[airjay75]

Interesting question. Curious to hear what other people’s thoughts are. I think one thing that makes the answer difficult is that we don’t know what points charts at future resorts will looks like, and the trend over time seems to be that you need more points for similar accommodations with each new resort. We also don’t know what 7-month availability will look like for new resorts or for the actively selling ones once they are sold out.

So, I think my quick reaction is that the most you could really do is future proof whichever home resorts you decide to pick by making sure you have enough points at those resorts for your desired accommodations. Since you want the ability to stay at new resorts, I’d probably stick with direct points. So, at the moment, I’d probably be thinking of picking up some direct points at Poly and RIV to cover deluxe studios - get enough to cover stays during any of your preferred times. Then, maybe wait for a new resort to come online and pick up some more direct points there with the same strategy. Or, look at a BLT or SSR resale contract to supplement for now where you could sell it and buy direct later (would probably go with BLT over SSR).

 

[Brian Noble]

The obvious answer is: All developer. Then you don't have to worry about it.

Perhaps a better answer: Have a heavy resale/developer mix now, and gravitate towards more developer as your resale resorts expire.

 

[MicheyMouse]

3x150 point direct contracts at the resorts with contract end dates of 40+ years.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

If you’re planning on week long stays don’t forget about favorite/fixed weeks as an option.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Lots of tradeoffs here and different things to consider. Will you ever need a larger room for a special trip to bring family? Will you get spoiled with some pixie dust and get upgraded to a 1BR and then want to stay in those?

If a large outlay today won't have a huge impact on your life/finances and you have considered the dues +increases for the next few decades and that doesn't cause any alarm, then a large purchase of direct points at a few resorts would be best. It will just make it easy. You also have to gamble with the cost/benefit of the resorts and consider that some have much easier to book at 7 months history and higher point charts. As an example, my very uneducated guess is that Poly Tower will be fairly easy to book with some flexibility at 7 months due to it's aggressive classification of just about everything if you can even see a single inch of the park as park view.

Will you ever want to make it west in the 40 years? Owning at Disneyland is likely more important than WDW if you want to go there with some frequency. DVC is just a much smaller thing with Grand Cal very hard to book.

The other wildcard here is you can try and bundle a purchase and ask for a deal if the promos are similar (likely having to take the worst deal of the 2 (or 3) resorts. Very often there will be breakpoints for the purchase of 300 or even 500 points where the discounts can become fairly strong and I'd consider targeting one of those deals if you are going to buy a lot of points.

Good luck!

 

[AwfulWaffle]

There won’t be enough. Can you imagine how much Disney will charge for the boardwalk when it goes back on sale in 2042 and the point charts by then…. Oof.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Buy enough points to cover these specific trips at a resort which will still be open in 40 years, which you like. New resort point charts will increase with inflation. But you can always fall back on your original resort then.