I mean at this point, why is anyone buying direct?

[we"reofftoneverland]

There are basically zero substantive benefits to buying direct at this point. Who exactly is still buying direct? Is Disney even managing to sell any direct contracts?

 

[Nursemanit]

I had a 4k gap direct RR compared to Poly Resale when they had the visa discount stacked with the referral discount. I am gambling on an AP window opening again to make up the cost. But really if you want the Epcot area direct is the only way to go. I do agree that the benefits are pretty weak and I would have bought all resale if I wanted just MK resorts.

 

[davidhr]

Unrestricted points. My first contract was resale. I added direct points and sold my resale contract.

I wanted to stay at Riviera and realized that the restriction was a big negative for me and don't want to be restricted with future resorts.

I ran the numbers and I'm still saving with my direct contract. That was enough for me. But my main driver to get DVC wasn't to get the maximum savings possible. If that's your main driver, then I'd have to agree that direct doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Yup if you are new to resale and don’t care about being locked out of Riviera and possibly (likely?) Poly 2 and Disneyland Hotel and other properties beyond then yes carry on with resale. So much savings. Plus can always have enough points to qualify for “blue card” perks / to book at the restricted properties to make you happy and then load up on resale to use at the originals.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

ok. I’m hearing…

1. Gambling on APs
2. Unrestricted points

I get both of those. I hope you’re right on APs. If I were buying now, however, I don’t know if I would buy for the gamble. I might buy some resale and then wait and buy direct later if APs come back. I don’t know. @Nursemanit how much of a spread we’re you willing to gamble? Was 4k kind of the limit?

And @davidhr was the draw just riviera and future resorts? Or do you use points to cruise and concierge too?

 

[KeithSS]

Also depends how many points, if its an add to an already existing contract/use year etc. and speed of how fast you may need the points. For me, anything under 50-75 points, depending on resort, isnt really worth the hassle of going resale and having the points be restricted. searching and waiting for the right use year as well as waiting for ROFR and for the points to be deposited in your account can be a hassle. Not to mention the fact that buying direct, you will have the points usually same day, as well as getting current use year points as well. So while I do see the benefit of buying resale at certain point levels, if its a small add on, to me dealing with resale isnt worth the hassle and waiting. Especially if its being financed. But thats just my opinion

 

[davidhr]

ok. I’m hearing…

1. Gambling on APs
2. Unrestricted points

I get both of those. I hope you’re right on APs. If I were buying now, however, I don’t know if I would buy for the gamble. I might buy some resale and then wait and buy direct later if APs come back. I don’t know. @Nursemanit how much of a spread we’re you willing to gamble? Was 4k kind of the limit?

And @davidhr was the draw just riviera and future resorts? Or do you use points to cruise and concierge too?

For me, yes, that was the only draw. I don't use the points for cruises or the other stuff.

Any extras I can get with the blue card is a nice to have.

Also my contracts are small (two 75 points contracts for now) at multiple resorts, so I agree with the other comment about it being so easy. Disney makes it dangerously easy to add points.

 

[Nursemanit]

I don’t know. @Nursemanit how much of a spread we’re you willing to gamble? Was 4k kind of the limit?

It was 90% that I don't even go to MK on most trips and like the Epcot area - I would have bought all of it at BWV if they were just extended to 2055 ish but 2042 falls off when I retire and I plan to go more at that point not less. So I needed direct points. RR direct was 4k more than Poly - VGF direct was 5K more and I went with location over my preference for VGF's lack of restrictions. I bought 100 resale BWV to go with my 250 RR so I can have 11-month priority for the tough month of September until 2042 - but I could not bring myself to spend more than 15k on a 2042 resort. As it is with TVM I am really only breaking even vs renting with my BWV points- but renting is not a great option when work may require me to change plans.

I went with the "buy where you are ok staying" vs Buy where you want to stay due to 2042 at BW . I would not be upset if I had to stay ar RR if I could not get BWV at 7 months.

But 4k seemed like a loss I could make up - I saved $200 on my first trip with DVC discounts on Merch ( which will fall off as I don't need anymore) and really saved on dining and a tour.

 

[Sandisw]

While the membership extras are not guaranteed, buying direct makes you eligible for whatever ones exist. Resale buyers are locked out of that program

Obviously the special DVC AP is a pretty popular perk to be eligible to buy, assuming sales resume. Even if they don’t, an owner with direct points would be eligible for potential ticket discounts they could decide to give.

The unrestricted points is pretty important and I bet plays a factor in many decisions.

Of course, most new buyers buy direct because they may have little to no knowledge of resale.

DVD is selling points and most months in 2022 sold between 140k and 170k.

 

[NVDISFamily]

I think it all comes down to your situation and it will vary a lot from family to family. Us more "west coast" based people may end up needing direct points to have any hope of staying at VDH when it opens up later this year.

I may buy in at VDH if the point chart is amazing or if they throw a good incentive at us.

We are a younger family that will likely still be in this game well past the 2042 expire dates and if DVC stays with the DVC 2.0 model and restricts future resorts to "clean" points only, then we'll be able to use our points at BCV2, BWV2, etc...

Incentives can add up and make the delta between resale and direct not too big.... I'm very happy with the RVA points I purchased a few months ago @ 164 a point direct from the mouse.

I also think we forget that Disney has been around for a long time and things will change. The Disney that we are working with today won't be the same in 10 or 20 years. Who knows if the benefits of the "blue card" will be amazing in 2030 and beyond. I'm looking forward to the lounge in Disneyland this year+ the other awesome DVC stuff that will likely come to Disneyland Resort to help hype up VDH.

Note - I'm not against resale. A little under half our points are resale and I'll likely buy more resale than direct in the long run. The prices of AKV and AUL resale are really tempting right now...

 

[pinkxray]

We are resale only for our SSR points. They have served us well using them to sleep around. However, I love MK. When booking trips my first thought is to stay at a MK resort. I decided to add on a small contract and wanted to direct in order to be able to always be able to book new resorts. I knew I wanted a monorail resort and direct points. VGF coming back online worked out perfectly so I picked up 60 points last month.

We will use our cheap resale points to swap out when possible on family trips. My oldest DD and I love GF so I will use those points mostly at GF, maybe try Riviera on our short girl trips.

If Poly2 comes out nice we might sell SSR to buy Poly. I would love to get the dvc discounts, access to the rare dvc events, Epcot lounge, etc. Am I really going to buy direct for these? No. But if Poly 2 is it’s own association I might buy direct to access the tower and those would just be a bonus.

VGF resale prices aren’t that much different for small contracts. I might have gotten an okay deal by low balling but it didn’t seem worth the effort. I also used my Disney visa to spread the payments over 8 months with no interest instead of having to take all the money out of my savings at once. It was also fantastic to e-sign the papers and go in and see my points immediately.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Well, we preferred Riviera for lots of reasons, and we think they nailed the layout of the rooms and accommodations there. We are spending more and more time at the resort as we knock off more bucket list attractions/restaurants/festivals, so the modern layout that doesn't have the pie-shaped entry is very appealing, especially for my husband using ECVs.

We haven't seen the Poly 2.0 rooms yet, but I'm assuming they'll be tweaked even better than Riviera, and we love the tower style DVC over dealing with the elements to get food and drink and transportation in temperamental FL weather.

The delta between new and resale isn't that crazy off depending on if you're buying 300ish points currently, and I'm thinking Poly 2.0 with incentives will be around $170-$180pp, maybe a smidge lower if the economy is tanking and they're still pushing RR, GFV, DLT, AU. Poly 1.0 resale is around there price-wise, so why not buy the new DVC and get double points for that first year, plus the instant gratification of not waiting 3-4 months for resale?

I do think APs will come back eventually. We snagged the Sorcerer DVC AP during that little 2021 window last year. IDK if we'll renew after our July trip when we're out of points with FOMO -- doubt it, but we hit WDW hard after buying in, so I'm okay taking a break and letting Disney clean up their act and announce something new to look forward to and save our money for Poly 2.0.

Also, whether Poly 2.0 is a new or bundled association, those new direct points get added to our Riviera direct points for DLT, which we'd like to check out en route to Aulani some day, and seeing how quickly the first 10 years of our kids' lives flew by, the 2042 end dates will be here before we know it. When 2042 rolls around and we've already tried every other WDW DVC but we've lost BC/BW/BR/HH/VB/OKW in the mix, I'll be glad to have us/our kids able to use those points at SS/AK/VGF/RR/Poly/AU/BLT/CC/GCV/GF.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

ok. I’m hearing…

1. Gambling on APs
2. Unrestricted points
3. Getting points immediately/ease of buying with Disney
4. People on west coast are tempted to buy DL direct to be able to book there.
5. Gambling for future unknown blue card benefits
6. Disney visa financing
7. The direct v resale spread at VGF is small
8. Booking primarily at RIV, but not wanting to be restricted to RIV

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Of course, most new buyers buy direct because they may have little to no knowledge of resale.

It’s probably largely this. Why do people buy Wyndham direct for tens of thousands of dollars when you can get it on eBay for pennies?

 

[havoc315]

There are basically zero substantive benefits to buying direct at this point. Who exactly is still buying direct? Is Disney even managing to sell any direct contracts?

Completely disagree. Direct at Riviera and VGF are good values that give you immediate access to points without broker headaches, and most critically give you access to ALL current and future resorts.
If you’re looking for long term, buying resale is a really questionable proposition with access to only half the resorts in 19 years.

Resale makes sense if:
-you’re only looking to own for 10-15 years..
-and/or you’re ok with what will become a very limited selection of resorts.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Moonlight Magic was fun (we did AK and TL) and is a member benefit. I’d put the value of that the same as extended hours that cost $.

 

[havoc315]

Yup if you are new to resale and don’t care about being locked out of Riviera and possibly (likely?) Poly 2 and Disneyland Hotel and other properties beyond then yes carry on with resale.

And in 19 years… Boardwalk, Beach Club, Boulder Ridge, Vero Beach, Hilton Head..

So much savings. Plus can always have enough points to qualify for “blue card” perks / to book at the restricted properties to make you happy and then load up on resale to use at the originals.

 

[DVCsloth]

I think points having no restrictions just sits better with me if I'm going to make a pretty substantial investment in Disney vacations. Currently, the only way I know of to acquire non restricted points is to purchase direct. The 150 points buy in is pretty steep. Personally, I don't want the hassle of restricted points. But I think it's a nice option to be able to buy resale.

 

[ded4025]

I just purchased VGF direct last month. My daughters love Disney so this was more a purchase that I can pass on to them so I wanted unrestricted points. I like RIV and I wanted that option. The return of APs would be great but wasn’t a factor in my decision.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

ok. I’m hearing…

1. Gambling on APs
2. Unrestricted points
-use at future resorts
-smaller pool of legacy resorts in 20 y
-use on cruises etc
3. Getting points immediately/ease of buying with Disney
4. People on west coast are tempted to buy DL direct to be able to book there.
5. Gambling for future unknown blue card benefits
6. Disney visa financing
7. The direct v resale spread at VGF is small
8. Booking primarily at RIV, but not wanting to be restricted to RIV
9. Lack of knowledge of resale market
10. Ability to pass on unrestricted contracts to kids/heirs