Late spring 2025 incentives (April 29-July 14)

[BeachClub2014]

Wouldn’t that be true of any item for sale anytime anywhere? I still buy used cars because I don’t like to lose money “on paper” right away. If you are one who hedges every bet, it’s best to plan for this.

I suppose so, but that's not the point.

I've never really understood the logic of the "losing money on paper" school of thought. You haven't "lost" anything, other than a feeling and perhaps a talking point. But hey, no judgment from me. I have a different philosophy and approach, and I only buy new vehicles. I keep them for about 10 or 12 years, then I buy a new one.

Depreciation only matters if you don't plan on keeping or using the underlying product. The resale variability between all of the resorts is market-driven, incremental to each other, and meaningless in the overall scheme of things. If you hold a contract for any resort long enough, its monetary value becomes zero.

 

[Brian Noble]

But, DVC is too expensive to not buy the resort that one wants to own if they have one.

This was what ultimately tipped for me. If I buy DVC, I am going to spend low-to-mid five figures more or less no matter what. If I am spending that much money, it is not worth getting the thing I sort-of, kind-of, mostly want instead of the thing I really want. Instead, I would have just kept rolling my very successful RCI/II exchange angle.

I can’t remember where it was posted but @Brian Noble has shared very reliable website that can predict if this will happen

In the words of Shaggy: "It wasn't me."

This is not true....most people do not exit DVC in 5 to 8 years. That is a data point that is misquoted.....of the owners who actually sell, the average ownership may be 7 - 10 years....but the number of owners who are selling in any given time is a very small % of the total owners out there.

This. Plus, it is not that illuminating to use monthly resale vs. retail volume in the current world of buy-strip-flip.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I've never really understood the logic of the "losing money on paper" school of thought. You haven't "lost" anything, other than a feeling and perhaps a talking point. But hey, no judgment from me. I have a different philosophy and approach, and I only buy new vehicles. I keep them for about 10 or 12 years, then I buy a new one.

Depreciation only matters if you don't plan on keeping or using the underlying product

I think my thought on this isn’t as obvious as it could be; I’ll try to explain!

I like exit strategies for everything. Not because I don’t plan to keep things (I do! I keep my things a long time typically), but because I always like to have a plan B option.

What if life changes? What if I lose my job? What if I get cancer and need funds? That’s why it matters to me.

 

[atthebeachclub]

To add: if you are a multimillionaire with access to funds easily, maybe the money doesn’t matter as much. I’m someone who would feel the hurt if I had to sell my DVC soon after purchase for a huge amount of depreciation in a situation where I absolutely had to do so. It would be like extra salt on a wound.

 

[eticketplease]

I can’t remember where it was posted but @Brian Noble has shared very reliable website that can predict if this will happen

In the words of Shaggy: "It wasn't me."

Sorry I wasn’t clear what I was referring to but I was joking about the magic 8 ball website that I thought you had posted.
I assumed that website would be able to tell if LSL would have the restrictions lifted lol

 

[BeachClub2014]

To add: if you are a multimillionaire with access to funds easily, maybe the money doesn’t matter as much. I’m someone who would feel the hurt if I had to sell my DVC soon after purchase for a huge amount of depreciation in a situation where I absolutely had to do so. It would be like extra salt on a wound.

If I were a multimillionaire, I would have a lot more points than the current 550!

It's not that the money doesn't matter, because it does. I view the original purchase price as a sunk cost to acquire a luxury item that the family wants and will use year after year. The resale market valuation doesn't factor into that equation....for us.

I would also add that there was no substantive resale market when we purchased our Riviera points. It was pretty much direct or nothing at that time. That would have left us waiting for an unknown period of time to wait for more Riviera contracts to hit the market, or buying the points we wanted when we wanted them.

 

[Brian Noble]

Sorry I wasn’t clear what I was referring to but I was joking about the magic 8 ball website that I thought you had posted.
I assumed that website would be able to tell if LSL would have the restrictions lifted lol

Oh, yes! If you want to know for sure, here's how!

link.

 

[Sandisw]

I think my thought on this isn’t as obvious as it could be; I’ll try to explain!

I like exit strategies for everything. Not because I don’t plan to keep things (I do! I keep my things a long time typically), but because I always like to have a plan B option.

What if life changes? What if I lose my job? What if I get cancer and need funds? That’s why it matters to me.

And I think that one should have them…but I also think that people should be cautious on using resale value in that strategy.

When we bought BLT, we looked at what we would pay against what we were paying for cash.

If we had to sell BLT at a 50% loss within a year of owning? We’d have spent more than staying cash for our trip.

By 5 to 7 years, we’d break even against cash if we sold at a 50% loss,,,by 10 years, we could give it away and be ahead of the game when it comes to the cost of Disney stays.

We also decided that if life happened and we had to sell, before we anticipated , we’d have more import things to worry about.

Using that with my RIV, I could sell today at half price of what I paid and be ahead of where all those trips would be cost me staying a cash owner with discounts.

 

[Kingkonig]

And I think that one should have them…but I also think that people should be cautious on using resale value in that strategy.

When we bought BLT, we looked at what we would pay against what we were paying for cash.

If we had to sell BLT at a 50% loss within a year of owning? We’d have spent more than staying cash for our trip.

By 5 to 7 years, we’d break even against cash if we sold at a 50% loss,,,by 10 years, we could give it away and be ahead of the game when it comes to the cost of Disney stays.

We also decided that if life happened and we had to sell, before we anticipated , we’d have more import things to worry about.

Using that with my RIV, I could sell today at half price of what I paid and be ahead of where all those trips would be cost me staying a cash owner with discounts.

Agreed wholeheartedly with all of this.

Having an exit strategy for investments or large purchases is a good thing, but it doesn’t really work for cars or timeshares. These are items that legally can be defined as an investment, but they are depreciating assets that their liabilities quickly and aggressively outweigh the price paid. A timeshare like DVC is a luxury purchase, not an asset that should be considered collateral to sell when times get rough. Sure you can, but no matter when you sell, you’ll likely be disappointed in the price.

 

[stat]

How I got comfortable with the immediate hit to Riviera resale value:

1. Riviera was the best balance for 150 direct points when I bought in terms dues, upfront cost, and expiration date. Saving money now (given the active incentives and thinking about rising direct prices in the future) was more saliant than a future hypothetical loss.
2. I didn't see the need to create a Plan B given I'm fortunate to have other assets and DVC contracts that would be tapped well before I'd contemplate giving up my precious direct points Selling this contract is more like plan Q. Sorry, fully loaded SSR contract acquired at $90... you've got to go first! Not to mention the ability to rent points is a non-trivial source of quick liquidity.
3. I knew if I ever sold, I'd already have passed the breakeven point. Which means selling for >$0 would be icing on the cake (as Sandisw noted above).
4. I bought a fixed/favorite week.
5. All the points others have already made about it being a luxury purchase, buying where you want to stay, etc.

 

[disneylandtour]

This was what ultimately tipped for me. If I buy DVC, I am going to spend low-to-mid five figures more or less no matter what. If I am spending that much money, it is not worth getting the thing I sort-of, kind-of, mostly want instead of the thing I really want. Instead, I would have just kept rolling my very successful RCI/II exchange angle.

I think this really depends on how many points you have. Here's one of the things I do. I have some contracts for places I really like to stay (BLT, Poly, CCV, and AKV for the value studios). I will book where I want at 11 months, and then at seven months--if there's still availability--I'll simply re-book with my SSR or OKW points and cancel the original reservation, which then frees up the original points to later make another 11-month reservation at Poly/BLT/CCV/Value again. I can tell you that I've had good luck at booking Poly and BLT at seven months, less so with CCV, and it's virtually impossible with Jambo Value.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I think this really depends on how many points you have. Here's one of the things I do. I have some contracts for places I really like to stay (BLT, Poly, CCV, and AKV for the value studios). I will book where I want at 11 months, and then at seven months--if there's still availability--I'll simply re-book with my SSR or OKW points and cancel the original reservation, which then frees up the original points to later make another 11-month reservation at Poly/BLT/CCV/Value again. I can tell you that I've had good luck at booking Poly and BLT at seven months, less so with CCV, and it's virtually impossible with Jambo Value.

I assume you know you can just rebook your reservation at 7 months right from the original reservation, and if any of the dates are open, you can use your SSR or OKW points for those, keeping the other dates booked as originally done with your 11 month points.

This is sort of basic DVC knowledge probably, but when I recently saved some BCV points this way I was very excited to realize it worked!

 

[atthebeachclub]

Agreed wholeheartedly with all of this.

Having an exit strategy for investments or large purchases is a good thing, but it doesn’t really work for cars or timeshares. These are items that legally can be defined as an investment, but they are depreciating assets that their liabilities quickly and aggressively outweigh the price paid. A timeshare like DVC is a luxury purchase, not an asset that should be considered collateral to sell when times get rough. Sure you can, but no matter when you sell, you’ll likely be disappointed in the price.

I mean…sure, it’s a depreciating asset, but it’s still an asset (mine have no loans against them). It is one of my larger assets that is somewhat easily available to me, and if needed I’d have to use it. Because I’m not using my house or my car or my farm (long story; I think the correct term is “hobby farm”; no I never imagined owning a farm but here we are). And most of my other money is in investment accounts.

 

[disneylandtour]

I assume you know you can just rebook your reservation at 7 months right from the original reservation, and if any of the dates are open, you can use your SSR or OKW points for those, keeping the other dates booked as originally done with your 11 month points.

This is sort of basic DVC knowledge probably, but when I recently saved some BCV points this way I was very excited to realize it worked!

Yeah, I was going to explain that, but I thought my post was already getting too wonky. But down that we're getting down into the weeds--I'll book individual days at 11 months so that I can pick and choose what needs to stay and go from the original reservation and be backfilled with a new seven-month reservation using SSR or OKW points. And then (hopefully) have it all combined before showing up at the resort--or at least having MS note it as a continuing reservation.

So the set of BLT, Poly, and CCV points become a type of churned point base that guarantees a reservation, while (hopefully) using less expensive points to create the same reservation (or at least parts of the same reservation) starting at seven months, even if it takes me a while to pick up all the individual dates with less expensive points (thanks waitlist). And at the end of it all, maybe there's still a couple days in the original reservation on BLT, Poly, or CCV points, but all's good with that.

Added bonus, if it's a mixed contract reservation, it also means that I can use the dining plan for part of the trip (each UY is its own contract) without changing rooms. Seven days of the dining plan is too much. But three or four is pretty nice.

 

[Disneydad14]

I can’t remember where it was posted but @Brian Noble has shared very reliable website that can predict if this will happen

How I got comfortable with the immediate hit to Riviera resale value:

1. Riviera was the best balance for 150 direct points when I bought in terms dues, upfront cost, and expiration date. Saving money now (given the active incentives and thinking about rising direct prices in the future) was more saliant than a future hypothetical loss.
2. I didn't see the need to create a Plan B given I'm fortunate to have other assets and DVC contracts that would be tapped well before I'd contemplate giving up my precious direct points Selling this contract is more like plan Q. Sorry, fully loaded SSR contract acquired at $90... you've got to go first! Not to mention the ability to rent points is a non-trivial source of quick liquidity.
3. I knew if I ever sold, I'd already have passed the breakeven point. Which means selling for >$0 would be icing on the cake (as Sandisw noted above).
4. I bought a fixed/favorite week.
5. All the points others have already made about it being a luxury purchase, buying where you want to stay, etc.

You seemed to have this well thought out . I never would have bought dvc if I couldn’t pay the entire thing in cash. Max out my 401k/roth /529s,etc. but most people
Don’t think that way and it angers me that Disney is making this product into something that they know will cause financial hardship to many people who probably shouldn’t of bought in the first place, are financing and then have to sell and are upside down on the loan. I think that’s a very common, predictable scenario

 

[Disneydad14]

I assume you know you can just rebook your reservation at 7 months right from the original reservation, and if any of the dates are open, you can use your SSR or OKW points for those, keeping the other dates booked as originally done with your 11 month points.

This is sort of basic DVC knowledge probably, but when I recently saved some BCV points this way I was very excited to realize it worked!

Can you explain this better please? I’m relatively new

 

[Sandisw]

Can you explain this better please? I’m relatively new

People will be able to use non home resort points to book days still available at 7 months to replace home resort nights.

The only caveat is that the home resort contract will be locked so if you still points left there it won’t work unless the days are the first or least days.

Then you book those with non home resort points and cancel the home. Resort nights.

 

[Disneydad14]

People will be able to use non home resort points to book days still available at 7 months to replace home resort nights.

The only caveat is that the home resort contract will be locked so if you still points left there it won’t work unless the days are the first or least days.

Then you book those with non home resort points and cancel the home. Resort nights.

Do you book Monday Friday and try to fill in TWTh?

Why not book them all and then just try to fill in any day that’s available ?

 

[eticketplease]

You seemed to have this well thought out . I never would have bought dvc if I couldn’t pay the entire thing in cash. Max out my 401k/roth /529s,etc. but most people
Don’t think that way and it angers me that Disney is making this product into something that they know will cause financial hardship to many people who probably shouldn’t of bought in the first place, are financing and then have to sell and are upside down on the loan. I think that’s a very common, predictable scenario

Not sure my quote was linked in this reply.

My comment was a little joke about when you said you would be first in line for LSL if it did not have resale restrictions. Which according to the magic 8 ball website is “Extremely Unlikely”

You may get a different response from @Brian Noble link but it is "Doubtful"

 

[Sandisw]

Do you book Monday Friday and try to fill in TWTh?

Why not book them all and then just try to fill in any day that’s available ?

I book my trip with my home resort points. Then, at 7 months, I use my SSR points to pick up any dates at the beginning or end of the trip still available. This allows me cancel those duplicate nights I had to use my RIV or VGF points for because it was a home resort booking.

Sometimes, all nights are available and I book as many as I can consecutively with SSR points and cancel my home resort nights, thus freeing them up for future home resort bookings.

Basically I have my home resort booking but use non resort points to replace it when I can for as many nights as I can!