I don't know where to start!

[beckyboo1986]

Hi all

We returned from Pop Century last week and did a DVC tour on our last day. We loved our holiday and can see us possibly returning to Orlando every 2 years.

We're from the UK, family on 2 adults and 1 child (aged 3). We were quoted for 150 points at $225 per point. I just can't decide whether it's right for us.

I'm confused as to whether we'd have the option to sell on if we decided not to use it. I'd love to one day move to Orlando so don't want to have something we may not use.

I've been searching on here but there's so many acronyms that I'm ever more confused.

Any help please.

 

[Middle of Main Street]

Hi all

We returned from Pop Century last week and did a DVC tour on our last day. We loved our holiday and can see us possibly returning to Orlando every 2 years.

We're from the UK, family on 2 adults and 1 child (aged 3). We were quoted for 150 points at $225 per point. I just can't decide whether it's right for us.

I'm confused as to whether we'd have the option to sell on if we decided not to use it. I'd love to one day move to Orlando so don't want to have something we may not use.

I've been searching on here but there's so many acronyms that I'm ever more confused.

Any help please.

That's so exciting for your family! Yes, you can sell your DVC if you decide you don't want it. There are several things to consider, so I would suggest watching a few videos about what Disney Vacation Club is before you buy. DVC Fan is a fun show to watch, but there are lots of others as well if that isn't your thing.
We just bought DVC this past spring on the resale market, and have just added on another contract with a second resort. I will tell you that we paid 119 per point for one contract of 200 points and less for the other. We also got great deals and didn't buy the cheapest resorts out there. We don't own a direct contract through Disney yet, so we miss out on ticket discounts and free soda at Epcot lounge, as well as Moonlight Magic. We saved more than enough money to make up for those. You might look at dvcforless.com just to see what the prices are out there on the resale market. This will help you understand better what you might get if you decide to sell, as well as help you consider if you prefer to purchase that way instead.
If you do decide you want to buy direct at Disney World, and you decide you want to sell those contracts someday, Riviera and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness have restrictions after they are sold, so they are less attractive to buyers on the resale market. If I were to purchase a resale Riviera contract, I can only stay at Riviera. But, there are people who want it, so it will still sell. This is where people have varying opinions, so continue to do your research and decide what direction to go. If I were going to buy a direct contract right now, I would probably buy at Polynesian because they have none of those restrictions, and it is a popular resort people like to buy on resale. It holds its value pretty well.

 

[beckyboo1986]

Sorry what do you mean?

 

[Middle of Main Street]

Sorry what do you mean?

I just edited part of my thread.

 

[Middle of Main Street]

Sorry what do you mean?

You don't actually have to buy your points directly through Disney. You can buy on the resale market. There are lots of brokers who will sell you Disney Vacation for less money. That is why you CAN sell your contract. Other people will buy it for less money than Disney will sell it to them. That is how we bought, rather than going directly through Disney. Instead of spending 225 per point, we spent 119 per point on our first contract. BUT, you do miss out on certain extras Disney offers direct if you buy that way.

 

[Royal Consort]

Take your time and do a few months of research. Learn the basics of DVC. Some youtube videos on the subject may help.

Learn the difference between DVC resale contracts (cheaper) vs buying from Disney (more expensive but you qualify for membership benefits such as the discounted annual pass, after-close park events, and access to member lounges).

Then there are resorts that are restricted when sold resale meaning a resale contract can only book at that resort (Riviera, Disneyland Hotel, Cabins at Fort Wilderness) while other 'older' resale contracts cannot book newer resorts.

Ultimately, DVC is a long term investment and you should probably only buy into with the mentality that it's a sunk cost. Anything above that is a bonus.

Take time. Research. Research more, and if you decide to buy in, buy a resort you love. If you're not sure it's right, it probably isn't. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. How regularly have you been visiting WDW so far? Will you realistically be visiting the next 30+ years? If not, perhaps renting DVC points is the better financial option for you and gives you the most flexibility.

 

[Disney_Funster]

Hi all

We returned from Pop Century last week and did a DVC tour on our last day. We loved our holiday and can see us possibly returning to Orlando every 2 years.

We're from the UK, family on 2 adults and 1 child (aged 3). We were quoted for 150 points at $225 per point. I just can't decide whether it's right for us.

I'm confused as to whether we'd have the option to sell on if we decided not to use it. I'd love to one day move to Orlando so don't want to have something we may not use.

I've been searching on here but there's so many acronyms that I'm ever more confused.

Any help please.

Our family owns several smaller contracts for DVC to suit our travel needs. We started off buying resale and eventually bought direct from Disney. Take your time to educate yourself on DVC, there are many sources online. You can go back and watch early videos to understand how the club works. There is a robust resale market which can offer substantial savings over Disney, but one must understand the limitations of the resale points. As our kids have grown and our vacation needs have changed, we have sold some contracts and bought others. It’s an easy process, the broker handles it all for you. Ultimately, it’s a personal decision, what is right for your family. Also keep in mind, that smaller contracts are easier to sell on the resale market, should you ever need to. Our portfolio consists of several smaller contracts that should we decide to sell on day we can sell them easier (ie selling a 400 point contract vs several 50 to 100 point ones.) Best of luck!

 

[beckyboo1986]

Thank you so much for the information. I will absolutely look into watching some videos. I felt the information provided was very lacking.

 

[macman123]

Im from the UK. If you need to chat send me a PM

 

[CastAStone]

To add to some of the comments above, there is a vibrant resale market for DVC currently but that doesn’t mean there will always be one.

Additionally, currently most resorts are worth about half as much on the resale market as Disney charges for them. So if you sell in two years, you will still have lost many, many thousands of dollars.

Important: DVC never makes sense for people who are unable to plan far in advance (8+ months), or who tend to have plans change at the last minute. For you to even continue researching, make sure you don’t fall into one of those groups.

 

[Miffy]

Since you stayed at Pop Century, continuing to stay there once every couple of years would still probably cost you less than purchasing DVC would.

The resale market for DVC is probably going to change because the new resorts have resale restrictions, as mentioned by a previous poster. For example, let's say you purchased a contract at Riviera direct from Disney and at some future date you wanted to sell it. The purchasers of that contract would be restricted to staying only at the Riviera, which would make it less desirable than a direct purchase.

At this point it's speculation about what will happen on the resale market in the future, but purchasing a DVC contract with the intention of selling it later is a risky proposition, despite what past experiences have shown.

 

[Ruttangel]

Any help please.

I’m from U.K. and best advice is to spend a month or two watching YouTube channels like DVC Fan and learning about DVC in this forum.

U.K. get free dining and good tickets so it’s worth comparing a DVC cost to your usual budget.

It will take a while to get your knowledge up to speed. Come back and ask with whatever you want

There is also a U.K. DVC forum on this board

 

[SG131]

Thank you so much for the information. I will absolutely look into watching some videos. I felt the information provided was very lacking.

That's because you were talking to a salesman/woman. At the end of the day, they don't care about making sure you're well informed, they just want to sell you a product. They don't talk about the resale market because that takes away from their business. They won't openly tell you that you can actually buy at any of the dvc resorts. They push the ones that are actively being sold. And if you want a "sold out" resort it will be at a highly marked up price. They will also talk about how shiny and special disney vacations are, but not talk about any of the downsides of dvc.

The biggest perk of DVC direct is the ticket discount. But as a UK resident you already get great deals. Resale can save a lot of money, but its complicated where you'll be able to stay depending on where you buy. If you buy Riviera resale you can ONLY stay there. If you buy bay lake resale, you can stay at any of the original resorts and some of the newer add ons like the poly tower, but not Riviera or the fort cabins or any other new DVC buildings. If you buy direct, you can stay at any resort, however, some resorts like Riviera have resale restrictions, so the resale value is currently less than some of the other resorts.

One of the other important things to understand is use year and what works best for you depending on when you like to travel. If you travel mostly in September, you don't want a December use year. The way use year works is extremely complicated you definitely need to watch some videos on that. As others said, a couple months of research is a must before you can really make an informed purchase. Also take a look at what happened at boardwalk this past year when renos ran longer than expected and people were moved to rooms that weren't equivalent to what they booked.

 

[Chili327]

Take your time and do a few months of research. Learn the basics of DVC. Some youtube videos on the subject may help.

This!!

Also, here are some good channels/playlists to watch.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1oGx7aOVSWpzi-Jf38ixUFmhzM03xuu-&si=8rl76C50FmTar54K
Or
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgvZMQtWPcPtCY21-L1wg_f6eawPfj97d&si=vwYQFDM_-1hUe3S4