Is DVC right for me? What would you do?

[NVDISFamily]

I could see us doing longer stays at other properties such as Aulani, but not WDW. Home is too close!

Based on this, looking for a sub-Aulani contract would be a great buy for you if you wanted to take the gamble. Use it to get what you want at 11 months for those planned trips. As long as you own it for longer than 8ish years the savings on the dues are worth the increased cost to buy the subsidized contract.

I'm not quite in the same boat as we live about 3 to 4 hours drive from our main Disney resort (Disneyland) but before DVC we were not always planners when going there. Would often plan just a week or two out. Now we have changed and plan year(s) ahead. I already have a few trips planned well into 2026 for the family and friends.

 

[Her Dotness]

I'm going to offer the contrarian view. The OP needs a single night, maybe 2 nights on occasion. It's not really THAT hard to find a single Friday or Saturday night in a 1 or 2 bedroom with as little as a few days notice (even the day before can be done). All you need to do is be flexible with location and be willing to work for it (check several times per day if necessary). I suspect people have never really tried doing this and are just reiterating what they have always heard. But if you only need a single night, it's not hard at all. Sure, if you are trying to string together a few nights in the same room, that is difficult, but that is not what is in the OP.

Okay. I can see how this may be more possible spontaneously than I considered.

I suppose the fact that DH's seniority dictates when we can get a week and our being 2k miles from WDW fixes my thinking into "must plan far, far ahead" in weeklong blocs.

Addonitis would be a real danger, I fear, living THAT close and being able to toss stuff in a bag and dash over for those wherever stays. "Now, I'm doing this only 3-4 times a year through my TM's generosity, but if I had my own points..." Yup, big danger from addonitis.

 

[SkampyOne]

I actually started a thread last week checking to see how many owners were local-ish to see if this made sense. The OP & I are in a similar boat: I have owner friends who have let me benefit from expiring points from time to time. I also tend to make multiple trips a year but have gotten tired of the day trips. I started staying 1-2 nights off-site last fall and really liked getting to stay, but disliked leaving the bubble and having to drive (not all shuttle programs are created equal). What I learned from the comments was really helpful and I'm now leaning toward a hybrid plan: there are days I know I want to be in my happy place that I can plan months in advance. And if I decide I want to do the occasional day trip, that's fine too. Checking the sponsor's availability tool, looks like near term one-offs might also be likely if you're not fussed about resort. Have calculated best UYs for my situation and with the "buy where you want to stay" I'm likely going to GASP get a small Crescent Lake 2042 contract and a larger monorail loop one. Still a bit spooked to pull the trigger because it's a huge investment, but I figure: I never really do anything for myself (or at least that's not Disney-related: I may have a pin, ear & art obsession), this is something that makes me really happy, it recharges my batteries and will force me to take time off work (or at very least, work a shorter day and then 15 minutes later, be in a park). If I discover it's not really for me, I can always sell. Life is short, do what makes you happy: gather ye Mickey bars while ye may...

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Too lazy or too stubborn

We’ll there is a lot to be said for sitting of your front porch in a rocking chair.

 

[RichVIII]

One other perspective - you could put some weekend spec reservations for times you think you might want want and cancel before the 31 days to get you points back without restrictions. You can’t look at the weather forecast but a little closer to the date. You could fill that in with reservations at Swalphin and cancel much closer. Under 31 days is a no fly zone for cancelling for us members and why you won’t see much change in inventory in that time.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

One other perspective - you could put some weekend spec reservations for times you think you might want want and cancel before the 31 days to get you points back without restrictions. You can’t look at the weather forecast but a little closer to the date. You could fill that in with reservations at Swalphin and cancel much closer. Under 31 days is a no fly zone for cancelling for us members and why you won’t see much change in inventory in that time.

The only problem with that being with current booking patterns you would be lucky to find a room later and after 7 months you would be back to OKW and SSR ….

There are cheaper ways to lose money at Disney than buying a Dvc contract your travel patterns don’t align with.

IMO

 

[Einstein509]

I'm going to offer the contrarian view. The OP needs a single night, maybe 2 nights on occasion. It's not really THAT hard to find a single Friday or Saturday night in a 1 or 2 bedroom with as little as a few days notice (even the day before can be done). All you need to do is be flexible with location and be willing to work for it (check several times per day if necessary). I suspect people have never really tried doing this and are just reiterating what they have always heard. But if you only need a single night, it's not hard at all. Sure, if you are trying to string together a few nights in the same room, that is difficult, but that is not what is in the OP.

While last minute stays may be possible to book, they are difficult and as others mentioned, you have to be extremely flexible.

Just to give you some perspective, I checked WDW resorts for a 1BDRM for this upcoming weekend and the next. ZERO availability, none, zilch, nothing. It's all booked up. Not even SSR and OKW are available.

That's not to say that some weekends will be open, but remember, DVC owners are pretty much locked into a reservation 30 days out. If they cancel, those points can't be banked. So things opening up last minute are rare.

IMHO, DVC is not right for you.

 

[Disney_David]

While last minute stays may be possible to book, they are difficult and as others mentioned, you have to be extremely flexible.

Just to give you some perspective, I checked WDW resorts for a 1BDRM for this upcoming weekend and the next. ZERO availability, none, zilch, nothing. It's all booked up. Not even SSR and OKW are available.

That's not to say that some weekends will be open, but remember, DVC owners are pretty much locked into a reservation 30 days out. If they cancel, those points can't be banked. So things opening up last minute are rare.

IMHO, DVC is not right for you.

That is good to know, thank you. I came through the BC again this morning and I’m probably in love with the idea, rather than the practicality of it.

Leaning towards it not being right either. I can plan my longer and bigger vacations, but I tend to want flexibility with Disney because home is so close.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm going to offer the contrarian view. The OP needs a single night, maybe 2 nights on occasion. It's not really THAT hard to find a single Friday or Saturday night in a 1 or 2 bedroom with as little as a few days notice (even the day before can be done). All you need to do is be flexible with location and be willing to work for it (check several times per day if necessary). I suspect people have never really tried doing this and are just reiterating what they have always heard. But if you only need a single night, it's not hard at all. Sure, if you are trying to string together a few nights in the same room, that is difficult, but that is not what is in the OP.

They also mention being able to cancel if on short notice. That is a big restriction, even if they can get something, Holding status changes things and could prove more frustrating

So, while nothing is impossible, last minute rooms are not easy to come by

 

[MartyParty]

While last minute stays may be possible to book, they are difficult and as others mentioned, you have to be extremely flexible.

That is good to know, thank you. I came through the BC again this morning and I’m probably in love with the idea, rather than the practicality of it.

Leaning towards it not being right either. I can plan my longer and bigger vacations, but I tend to want flexibility with Disney because home is so close.

Going to offer a different perspective. Life as you know now might not be exactly the same in the future. Will you always live close to the parks? Will you want to travel to Disneyland or Hawaii? You have a picture with you and Winnie the Pooh. I’m guessing you really enjoy your Disney experiences. I did a little bit of what you’re describing 25+ years ago. No kids. Stayed at Marriott or value hotels on property. But life has a funny way of happening.

Kicking myself for not buying in to Cali and/or Bay Lake when it was around $100 a point direct. My advice, and it’s only advice, is buy a small contract and see how you like it for a few years.

And if it doesn’t work out then simply sale it on the market. In life I’ve done a lot dumber things with my money than buy DVC. But even if you don’t buy DVC, Disney will still be available.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[Einstein509]

Going to offer a different perspective. Life as you know now might not be exactly the same in the future. Will you always live close to the parks? Will you want to travel to Disneyland or Hawaii? You have a picture with you and Winnie the Pooh. I’m guessing you really enjoy your Disney experiences. I did a little bit of what you’re describing 25+ years ago. No kids. Stayed at Marriott or value hotels on property. But life has a funny way of happening.

Kicking myself for not buying in to Cali and/or Bay Lake when it was around $100 a point direct. My advice, and it’s only advice, is buy a small contract and see how you like it for a few years.

And if it doesn’t work out then simply sale it on the market. In life I’ve done a lot dumber things with my money than buy DVC. But even if you don’t buy DVC, Disney will still be available.

Good luck with your choice.

I do like this approach though even despite saying that DVC is not right for you.

It's a way for you to test the waters and you can always sell the contract if it's not working out.

 

[Brian Noble]

Would I be nuts to buy into DVC? And if not, what would you recommend we look at? Resale? should I be looking at a resort I prefer as a home resort or does it not matter given I’m not booking months out, how many points, 100-150 seems about right to me?

This only makes sense if you have $15K (ish) laying around that you'd be happy to devote to Disney vacations right now, today. If you do, then I'd say it is a definite maybe. If you don't, then skip it.

Second question: how much would you rather stay in a 1BR somewhere vs. a hotel room at the Swolphin? Figure owning will cost about 2/3 the cost of renting, give or take, and you can figure out what the 1BR room "costs". It will be more than you are spending on that Swolphin room. Is the difference worth it?

Third question: Are you willing to turn "stalking the web site for a room we might take in the next month or so" into a hobby that you spend non-trivial time on?

If the answers to those questions are yes, yes, and yes, then go for it.

Based on what you are saying, I'd recommend resale (otherwise, you need $30K just laying around, and the costs of ownership go up quite a bit). Do not buy Riviera, because you are going to be grabbing the leftovers room-inventory-wise, and you won't want to be limited there. Otherwise, buy the cheapest combination of sales price/dues you can find. That's probably Saratoga. It might be something else.

The alternative to this is to rent confirmed reservations at the last minute on a distressed-sale basis. I am not sure whether that is happening in the market, but if it is it might be a good alternative.

 

[crisi]

Also keep in mind that "spontaneous" and any weekend where there is a big demand are not really likely to work out - even for one bedrooms and even out at SSR. That would be any marathon weekend, D23, weekends where special events happen , holiday weekends, "Jersey Week" and most of the last quarter of the year.

You will probably be able to find SOMETHING much of the time booking a month or less out - maybe even more than half the time. It will usually be one bedrooms, and it will usually be one of the less in demand and/or bigger resorts. Cancelling less than a month out leads to all sorts of issues - understand holding if that is part of your plan. Understand that points are use 'em or lose 'em - even if you saved some points to go near the end of the use year and then nothing was available - too bad, you are out those points. Understand that you need to know six months ahead of the points expiring that you want to bank them - and once you do that, you can't get them back (but you can borrow from next year). Understand that as a timeshare, DVC is DESIGNED to work at capacity - not leave extra rooms lying around - and that if a room isn't booked by a member at 60 days (I think its 60), Disney can move it over to see if they can get someone to pay cash for it (which does offset our dues a little). The question isn't whether or not rooms will fill, its really how fast will they fill - so you are basically betting that people are holding points for even more last minute trips, or they are just not going to use their points at all. When the system works perfectly, every room is booked every night, except the few that are set aside for maintenance that aren't bookable.

Its a higher risk usage pattern and as such you are going to want to understand the system inside and out - and be willing to work the system - AND you are going to be the type of person that is flexible - no promising someone BCV for next weekend - MAYBE that will work out, but it might be SSR two weekends from now or nothing. Or you have to not really care if it doesn't work out.

 

[Disney_David]

Going to offer a different perspective. Life as you know now might not be exactly the same in the future. Will you always live close to the parks? Will you want to travel to Disneyland or Hawaii? You have a picture with you and Winnie the Pooh. I’m guessing you really enjoy your Disney experiences. I did a little bit of what you’re describing 25+ years ago. No kids. Stayed at Marriott or value hotels on property. But life has a funny way of happening.

Kicking myself for not buying in to Cali and/or Bay Lake when it was around $100 a point direct. My advice, and it’s only advice, is buy a small contract and see how you like it for a few years.

And if it doesn’t work out then simply sale it on the market. In life I’ve done a lot dumber things with my money than buy DVC. But even if you don’t buy DVC, Disney will still be available.

Good luck with your choice.

That is true - you never know! I see us in this lifestyle for a while, I don’t see kids, and I don’t see us moving away from the parks in the near future, unless it’s closer (almost not joking!).

We will visit Disneyland at least once or twice a year. But that’s currently an easy decision on where to stay. I have lifetime status with Marriott so I get free breakfast or concierge lounge, soft drinks, snacks and a late checkout. GCH might tease me away from that but not at rack rate

I like the advice! Thank you!

 

[Disney_David]

This only makes sense if you have $15K (ish) laying around that you'd be happy to devote to Disney vacations right now, today. If you do, then I'd say it is a definite maybe. If you don't, then skip it.

Second question: how much would you rather stay in a 1BR somewhere vs. a hotel room at the Swolphin? Figure owning will cost about 2/3 the cost of renting, give or take, and you can figure out what the 1BR room "costs". It will be more than you are spending on that Swolphin room. Is the difference worth it?

Third question: Are you willing to turn "stalking the web site for a room we might take in the next month or so" into a hobby that you spend non-trivial time on?

If the answers to those questions are yes, yes, and yes, then go for it.

Based on what you are saying, I'd recommend resale (otherwise, you need $30K just laying around, and the costs of ownership go up quite a bit). Do not buy Riviera, because you are going to be grabbing the leftovers room-inventory-wise, and you won't want to be limited there. Otherwise, buy the cheapest combination of sales price/dues you can find. That's probably Saratoga. It might be something else.

The alternative to this is to rent confirmed reservations at the last minute on a distressed-sale basis. I am not sure whether that is happening in the market, but if it is it might be a good alternative.

Yes, yes and yes, but great advice. Maybe I looked at the confirmed reservations a while back and didn’t see anything at that point I wanted to pick up. Maybe that’s a good indicator of the non existent or slim pickings that will be left at my window, and if really wanted to stay and couldn’t find a reservation, I’d probably just move over to the Swolphin anyway. Hmmmm

 

[Disney_David]

Also keep in mind that "spontaneous" and any weekend where there is a big demand are not really likely to work out - even for one bedrooms and even out at SSR. That would be any marathon weekend, D23, weekends where special events happen , holiday weekends, "Jersey Week" and most of the last quarter of the year.

You will probably be able to find SOMETHING much of the time booking a month or less out - maybe even more than half the time. It will usually be one bedrooms, and it will usually be one of the less in demand and/or bigger resorts. Cancelling less than a month out leads to all sorts of issues - understand holding if that is part of your plan. Understand that points are use 'em or lose 'em - even if you saved some points to go near the end of the use year and then nothing was available - too bad, you are out those points. Understand that you need to know six months ahead of the points expiring that you want to bank them - and once you do that, you can't get them back (but you can borrow from next year). Understand that as a timeshare, DVC is DESIGNED to work at capacity - not leave extra rooms lying around - and that if a room isn't booked by a member at 60 days (I think its 60), Disney can move it over to see if they can get someone to pay cash for it (which does offset our dues a little). The question isn't whether or not rooms will fill, its really how fast will they fill - so you are basically betting that people are holding points for even more last minute trips, or they are just not going to use their points at all. When the system works perfectly, every room is booked every night, except the few that are set aside for maintenance that aren't bookable.

Its a higher risk usage pattern and as such you are going to want to understand the system inside and out - and be willing to work the system - AND you are going to be the type of person that is flexible - no promising someone BCV for next weekend - MAYBE that will work out, but it might be SSR two weekends from now or nothing. Or you have to not really care if it doesn't work out.

This is great advice. If what was popping up regularly was SSR then I wouldn’t take it. I’d pick the Swan or Dolphin. It would have to be walkable to a park (BCV, BWV, Contemporary) or something like CCR,AKL where I don’t need to go the park if I don’t want.

I might look at cash rates and pull together a spreadsheet, ultimately I like the thought of owning and seeing where that takes my journey!

 

[crisi]

This is great advice. If what was popping up regularly was SSR then I wouldn’t take it. I’d pick the Swan or Dolphin. It would have to be walkable to a park (BCV, BWV, Contemporary) or something like CCR,AKL where I don’t need to go the park if I don’t want.

I might look at cash rates and pull together a spreadsheet, ultimately I like the thought of owning and seeing where that takes my journey!

So here is something to understand...DVC will very likely NOT save you money. It might - if you always stayed in studios (booking on short notice you will seldom get studios, they go first in the Disney DVC demand world). You have a ton of Marriott points, that probably means you are getting the occasional free room from Marriott - DVCers get NO room deals. In fact, we really don't get deals other than occasionally some discounts (and you need direct points for those) - and pre-Covid AP discounts - but as a Florida resident, you had that. So don't go into this thinking you will save money.

Points expire - so not "taking" the resort means pushing those points closer to the end of their life. And that's what I mean by use 'em or lose 'em - there are going to be times when it comes down to "SSR for a weekend or just lose the points completely" .... in particular BWV and BCV are hard to get short notice, even in one bedrooms. That you've been able to stay there in the past is good luck. You'll have more luck if you are able to stalk the website - checking it a few times a day - because people do cancel trips on short notice when emergencies come up. But you'll be in competition with other people like you - folks who live close enough to go on really short notice....and weekends will have more competition for those points.

But honestly, it sounds like you've made up your mind and want to give it a try. Buy points - buy the best value points - looks for low dues, low point cost, and a longer contract life....(that might be BLT right now). If you aren't booking more than seven months out, it doesn't matter where you own for reservation purposes. You'll want something that will hold its resale value so that in three years if the system isn't working for you, you can sell - that wouldn't be one of the 2042 resorts. I'd go with resale - the perks for direct aren't great, the best being the potential AP discount which you are likely to get anyway - oh, and the opportunity for Moonlight Magic - but rooms for those nights sell out long before you will make reservations, unless you plan around those dates.

 

[havoc315]

Unless you are totally flexible, DVC does not work if you're booking just weeks or a couple months out.
And when I say totally flexible -- I mean, you're ok with getting on a waiting list, and just crossing your fingers for rooms. 1 BR units have more availability, but still not much at 1-2 months out.

For example, it's early February now. I did a random check for a weekend in March, Sat night check in, Monday morning checkout -- wait list only.
Even looking early May -- only 2 DVC resorts with weekend 1 BR availability. Early June had decent 1 BR availability...
So can you plan 4 months in advance?
Or are you happy simply getting on wait lists and crossing your fingers for rooms a month in advance?
Otherwise, DVC really isn't for you.

 

[RoseGold]

I think this makes a lot of sense for a local. This is how I would do it: https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-newbie-availability-direct-vs-resale.3883760/post-64020887

This will require some effort, knowing the rules, and more points than you actually need.

I still think you'd totally be able to use this. Last minute or 30 day-ish availability is there. You might be surprised what you get. I just got BW view. Or, just book speculatively and cancel at 30+ days. For a night here and there, this is totally doable.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Nope. Just rent.