How much did your current age play into your DVC purchase decision making?

[SleeplessInTO]

I am 36, DH is 38. We bought Boardwalk 3 years ago because that’s where we like to stay. When it expires, if we still want to be DVC owners at Disney, we will buy where we want to stay again. But in 19 years, we are likely semi-retired and going to want to vacation elsewhere and vacation differently. DD will be in her 20s, and if she loves Disney still, a new contract for her at her favourite resort will be the way to go.
We also have points at SSR to sleep around with and see if we enjoy any other resorts. It’s working out well for our more last minute (by DVC standards) trips. So far, Beach Club is our second choice.

Financially I don’t consider DVC an investment. It’s vacation money that’s pre-paid, purely a luxury. My ROI is the happy memories for our family. For the amount of money that DVC costs, I wanted to know we would get to stay at our preferred resort at least once a year. Buying somewhere that’s “good enough” to stay at if I can’t switch out at 7 months just didn’t feel worth it to me.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I would be 97 and hubby 103 when Riviera expires, so we definitely bought it anticipating passing the contracts down to the kids. Now we just need to buy 100 more points to make it even for each kid . . . or ideally another 200 and let them fight over the uneven points 30 years from now.

 

[Chuck S]

Well, purchasing in 1992, it really didn't matter, I was 34. It was my Mom, who was 68 years old at the time, and she was very excited about buying in after the presentation at Commodore House (The original sales center at OKW}. I was on the fence, but she was so excited, that we bought on the spot. Mom thoroughly enjoyed the membership, and added on 3 times so we could do one bedrooms two to three times per year. Now, since I have no kids or nieces and nephews, we did not extend the OKW contracts when it was offered, as I figured I'd be lucky to expire after the contract does. And I'm not in the market for any more points, but I do use the 345 points I have. I've gotten to the point I travel with friends, and I had so many points after the COVID closures, I treated a big group of 11 people for a week, housed in Grand Villa AND a two bedroom so everyone had plenty of room. When I treat, I get the room, everyone is responsible for their own park tickets, meals, and transportation to/from the resort, whether they choose to fly or drive. And there is a variety of ticket types in our group. 6 are lucky enough to have access to Military tickets, some get regular 1 park per day base tickets, and I have a Sorcerer pass. We generally have a couple planning meetings prior to the trip to book dining and parks days, decide what groceries to order for the room, etc.

 

[Sparky984]

We bought a 2042 resale which will expire around the time kids are grown and off on their own. We also bought Riviera for direct benefits and for ourselves, after they are doing their own thing. We further broke up our Riviera purchase to the then 100 minimum for direct benefits, and a second contract for the remainder of our points. This gives us the option to keep direct benefits on fewer points if we just aren’t going as often without kids or as we age. It was an intentional, thought out thing.

 

[Chuck S]

We bought a 2042 resale which will expire around the time kids are grown and off on their own. We also bought Riviera for direct benefits and for ourselves, after they are doing their own thing. We further broke up our Riviera purchase to the then 100 minimum for direct benefits, and a second contract for the remainder of our points. This gives us the option to keep direct benefits on fewer points if we just aren’t going as often without kids or as we age. It was an intentional, thought out thing.

You may find you go more often without the kids. It is a completely different, more relaxing experience on an adults only trip. Both types of trips, with or without kids, have their pros and cons, and both are fun!

 

[Disney Mickey&Minnie Fan]

We checked out DVC from a distance thru the 90's and decided we just couldn't afford it - or I should say, we couldn't afford airfare and spending for dinning annually for a family of 5. I loved WDW from the time it opened. We honeymooned there. As empty nesters we found ourselves at WDW 3 times annually for 2 years running. We attended an open house and walked out with DVC membership. Our focus was staying at the 'walkable' venues for moderate pricing. We love our DVC.

It wasn't our age as much as it was being able to vacation as a party of 2 versus a party of 5.

We purchased DVC for similar reasons. Children are adults and no longer living at home. My husband and I are able to vacation and travel more often.

We live far from Florida and the cost of airfare, meals, and hotel made visiting WDW when the children were young a rare, special occasion vacation.

We added our adult children as owner to the contact, so when we are no longer able to use the annual points our children will be able to vacation DVC at WDW.

 

[RamblinWreck]

VGF was the only thing we were really considering.

It would have probably changed our minds if VGF was a 2042 resort though.

 

[Cabius]

We bought at the Poly because we love the Poly, first and foremost. The longer contract made it a better value on a lifetime cost-per-point basis, which was definitely a factor: I didn't seriously consider BRV or BC despite my affection for those resorts, because I didn't want it to expire in my mid-50s.

If the contract expirations were switched, maybe we would've picked a longer contract at Beach Club instead? I'm honestly not sure.

 

[RoseGold]

I bought long contracts because the 2042s are just long enough that they are longer than I want to hold. So, I bought longer contracts planning to sell in 7-ish years.

I can see a BIG draw for starter 2042 contracts in 10 years or so, as people see locking in for 10 years as maybe not such a huge deal. It's why I don't see buying BC/BW right now as dire as maybe the math suggests. I think those starter contracts, 10 years with BC, will still be very appealing against a house down payment for 50 years at RIV 3.

 

[Wedgeout]

Age came into play for When To Buy and not Where to Buy. Took us later in life, 50’s, to purchase. It’s a huge financial decision. There are many other great places to visit. I’m not a tunnel vision vacationer. Length of a contract means less to me than immediate enjoyment. I don’t spend much time guessing how DVC will look decades from now.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

We recently purchased our first contract from DVC after considering it for a while, and we are very happy so far. We purchased direct at Riviera (and I'll explain my reasoning), but I see so many people purchasing resale and at some of the 2042 and other resorts and just had an intellectual curiosity about what affected others' decision to purchase where and how and why.

I will preface this with I tend to be the exception to rule on a lot of things when it comes to what popular opinion is.

DW and I are both 33 (hoping for kids in the next couple years) and look at this as wanting to get the most use out of our vacations. I'm hoping I'm still alive, don't have alzheimer's and can get around at 83. We were originally going to go with Boardwalk, I had written off Riviera after looking it up online because (after seeing it in person) I think the Disney site does a horrible job at showcasing that resort online. Once it was clarified that the expiration isn't 50 years from your purchase date but 50 years from the original offering date that took Boardwalk totally out of my equation, and we immediately hopped on the skyliner to tour Riviera. We took a small trip down because we live 2 hours away and I wanted to talk to someone in person. We visited and actually toured Riviera and loved it and the location so with having 48 years left on the contract that heavily weighed into our decision making. I know there are some other resorts close to that, as well.

As for buying direct, it was all about my best guess that Disney will continue to impose resale restrictions at anywhere new built over the next 48 years, because I've never seen a company get less restrictive or cheaper. We want to experience anywhere new so that made direct our only option without having to keep buying new contracts anytime a resort opens.

All of that to say being 33 (without kids yet) played HUGE factor into where and bought and why. Whereas if I was in my late 50's boardwalk resale might have been what I went with.

More of just a discussion on an intellectual level.

P.S. Not trying to start a giant fight speculating over what Disney will do with future resorts, lol.

I agree with you that Riviera in person looks completely different than online. Alas, by the time I realized I loved Riviera, minimum buy-in was upped to 150, so I'm not a member yet, but that being said...

Having stroller-aged kids, I would not buy a DVC that was bus transport only (SSR, OKW, AKL). I love the look of OKW online, but haven't seen it in person yet (hope to do that during our next stay when we are at SSR). After the kids are out of strollers, I would consider OKW, but not now.

My grandparents traveled until they were in their early to mid 80s, and I hope to do the same, so I look at the dates/number of points. I'd buy less points resale at a resort that expires sooner, just to get into DVC, but then I'd add more points at Riviera direct (or at least that is my current plan).

If I would have had the money or foresight about raising prices/minimums in 2017, I would have bought at Copper Creek. Beautiful resort, love the theming. It would have been a great resort for us back then, when we thought we might only have 1 child. But after I had my daughter when I was 37, we realized we were going to eventually need 3 sleeping surfaces. Copper Creek's studios wouldn't do that.

I think it is great to have the foresight for what you might need in the future. And I love the Skyliner. Hopefully, some day I will be in my 70s, hopping the Skyliner from Riviera to Epcot!

 

[Dobermanns]

Our ages were not, and still are not, a factor when considering which resort to buy into and add onto. I am the number cruncher so I just made sure the bottom line works.
Hubby doesn’t care where he stays at. I do. So we own at all my favorite resorts
Oh the only resort he cares about and wanted more points at was Aulani.
We have no two-legged children. DVC is just a way to prepay for lodging, especially when we retire. We own at Poly, VGF, BLT, BCV, SSR (for SAP but I am liking it now after the refurb), RIV, VGC and AUL. So expiration dates didn’t factor in except for the bottom line. I am looking to add on at DLT. Hoping for sales there to start soon

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

We never, ever considered buying any type of time share / fractional ownership. When we were younger our travel varied so much it just wasn’t appealing to lock into one place, and generally not financially advisable to buy one (Disney as usual being an exception to the rule).

Although age has changed our travel a bit, the real game changer was the birth of our DD. Being able to combine a Disney visit with our annual trip to visit family in Hawaii was a no brainer. The only consideration for age (ours or Aulani’s lease expiration) is : we would be 96 and 87 when the lease expires, so we’ll be leaving the membership to our daughter, and now I have to save up enough money to cover 15-20 years of annual dues, so we’re leaving her a gift, and not an albatross!

 

[brazzledazzler]

Age played a major factor, as did the timing of resort expiration. We’re in our mid-30s with 2 kiddos (age 3 and under 1), so we've got many years of Disney trips ahead of us. 2042 resorts were not even on our radar. We both wanted to be able to stay at future resorts with our family, so we knew that buying direct was the best option. We ultimately were down to CCV or RIV–and after touring both, we loved the size of the RIV studios, location, ambiance, and Skyliner access. (Although, after staying at CCV this past week, we do love the resort and hope to go there frequently with our points).

We like that we have almost 50 years of vacations ahead of us!

 

[Brandon4Bama]

Age and length contract was a concern for my wife and I. We are currently 30 years old and just purchased our first contract at BLT. We also have a newborn child which factored into this decision. We knew a 2042 resort was not an option for us as it would have expired by the time we are 50. BLT worked out due to 2060 end date. This will put my wife and I well into our 60's when it expires and our current newborn son will be in his older 30's. We also considered CCV, SSR and RIV but ultimately the distance to Magic Kingdom and relatively cheap point chart for BLT won us over.

 

[MISCdisney21]

39 with young kids. Expiration date played big part. I think we loved poly anyway and purchased there. But I wasn’t seriously looking at a 2042 expiration as an option. I would like to add on eventually and boardwalk location is appealing but expiration still scares me off.

 

[Lunchbox66]

39 with young kids. Expiration date played big part. I think we loved poly anyway and purchased there. But I wasn’t seriously looking at a 2042 expiration as an option. I would like to add on eventually and boardwalk location is appealing but expiration still scares me off.

I know a lot of people disagree but I consider Riviera an EPCOT/Boardwalk resort. Like 10 mins max door to exiting skyliner at EPCOT. We love the boardwalk area.

 

[Sparky984]

I know a lot of people disagree but I consider Riviera an EPCOT/Boardwalk resort. Like 10 mins max door to exiting skyliner at EPCOT. We love the boardwalk area.

I wonder what room to gate times are for BWV/BCV vs RR. I think they’re probably pretty comparable. Walking never goes down for rain, but otherwise, the skyliner is an equalizer for me.

We bought RR sight unseen (2020) and liked it even more than we imagined.

 

[gregskellington]

It both did and didn't. 2042s expire when I'm freshly 50, but I don't feel any confidence in their resale value as we inch closer to that so I wouldn't have bought one, regardless.

 

[SG131]

DW and I are both 33 (hoping for kids in the next couple years) and look at this as wanting to get the most use out of our vacations. I'm hoping I'm still alive, don't have alzheimer's and can get around at 83. We were originally going to go with Boardwalk,

I was around your age when I first bought in a few years ago and made the exact opposite decision. First off, I absolutely loved the location of the Boardwalk. I really enjoy being able to walk to parks. I know that's not something everyone is interested in. I also had a limited budget, and with the point chart at boardwalk I could get more nights for the same number of points as at Riv or most of the other DVC properties. I also don't have perfect health, so the resale restrictions at Rivera scared me since it was such an unknown and it will likely be 10 years until we see a full picture of how that will work. I figure that by 2042 I should be making more money and have more flexibility to buy elsewhere if I decide I'm still interested in vacationing at Disney.

Now, since then my money situation changed a bit and I was able to add on at Bay Lake, so I'll have DVC until 2060. But I'm still glad I bought at boardwalk.