Many decisions to make: VGF vs Riviera, direct or resale and use year.

[sashinska]

I am new to DVC and need some advice on purchasing. As of right now, we like to go to Disney twice a year: in Sept-Oct and Apr-May. Our thinking is to buy 150 direct points from RIV or VGF and then buy an additional resale 100 pts contract for Animal Kingdom. This way we will have 1) all the perks of the blue card 2) two home resorts and 3) two smaller contracts that as I understand are easier to sell later on. Then, the idea is to book our two yearly trips with the two contracts separately to use the 11 months advantage (one trip we stay 5 nights at AKV and another trip we stay 5 nights at RIV (or VGF). Questions I have for the DVC experts here are the following:
1) VGF or RIV?
2) Use year. As we go twice a year would it make sense to buy two different UYs? If the answer is no, which UY would be the best for our spring/fall trips?
3) Do you see any pitfalls in this strategy?
Any other comments and suggestions are welcome .

 

[redboat45]

Looks like you'd want a September use year.

If you prefer to stay at Riviera buy there if you prefer GF buy there. If you want the longer expiration date buy RIV or if you think you'd want to stay in the Tower Studios at Riv you need to buy there.

 

[RoseGold]

It's impossible to answer without your exit strategy. Blue card isn't worth much right now, and this is a several thousand dollar discussion. If you plan on selling in a few years, like I do, I don't see why you'd buy direct at all.

I'd buy the resale first anyway, so they can match the UY when you buy direct.

 

[sashinska]

It's impossible to answer without your exit strategy. Blue card isn't worth much right now, and this is a several thousand dollar discussion. If you plan on selling in a few years, like I do, I don't see why you'd buy direct at all.

I'd buy the resale first anyway, so they can match the UY when you buy direct.

We have a toddler so no intention to sell in the next 10+ years. Still debating on direct/resale (that's why I am here ). Our reasoning for buying direct is protection from all resale restrictions Disney could implement down the road. Plus, considering that they periodically increase amount of points required for the full membership we would rather buy direct sooner than later. Then of course there is Riviera. Buying it on resale eliminates much of flexibility of the DVC and a no-go for us but we still could do it if we went with VGF .

 

[RoseGold]

People used to do these decades long math justifications on these boards to buy direct with the AP discount. Welp, now there's no AP and no discount. So, buying direct means you really want access to RIV or future resorts (which can't be promised anyway). If you're selling in ten years, maybe that isn't worth much? Or maybe you really love RIV? I do think if you plan to have DVC pried from your dead hands, direct is the way to go. But not if you want to keep your options open.

IMO, buying resale is much less commitment and risk. I have been unimpressed with many recent Disney decisions lately and have been very glad all of my points are resale. I can easily unload my resale for what I paid, even when I haven't held long. I like that about DVC, it's one of the reasons I bought in at all.

I don't see two UYs as a huge deal, if you use one for one season, one for the other. I've used the four waitlist spots many times. You go to Disney enough to be able to use up straggling points.

 

[Sandisw]

The benefit of VGF is the ease to MK which is really nice. It’s MFs are less than RIV..though may not always be…and does have a lot of studios now. Point charts are a bit more than RIV and it does end 6 years less.

Your first set of points will be in the 2022 UY. An April or Oct UY will work great for the travel times. Just depends if you see yourself ever wanting to go for the holidays or summer. April UY is better for summer and Oct UY is for holidays.

RIV will be less expensive and if you go with an Oct UY, you’d get 2021 points too, as well as more years and the chance to get the SV rooms which will be tough if you do not owner there,

IMO, both are great options and I do think there is a benefit to own direct points for use at RIV and all future resorts, not to mention being eligible for whatever membership perks are there

We do not know yet which way the new Poly tower will go, and it may be restricted from resale points.

Good luck!

 

[sndral]

I didn’t have an ‘exit’ strategy over a decade ago when I first bought DVC . My plan then & now is to never sell - I don’t need any more taxable gains!
I bought the 2 resorts I loved staying at because I planned to continue staying at those resorts for many years and the ease of getting the villa size & view I wanted where I wanted to stay at 11 months far outweighed a couple hundred dollar difference in initial outlay.
I have 2 home resorts (AKV & VGF) w/ 2 contracts at each home resort (so 4 contracts total) all in the same use year because I’d rather keep things simple. W/ your plan to add on later I would take a look at how many direct points were sold in the various use year months at AKV - for example Dec. at AKV is the most common AKV month sold at 33% whereas Sept. & April are the least common w/ only 7% each - so when you are shopping for your resale contract there’ll be a lot more listings for Dec. v. April or Sept.. But AKV resale listings are relatively plentiful & this wouldn’t be as big a concern as it would at some of the smaller DVC resorts which have fewer listings. https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program/own...ty-of-disney-vacation-club-points-by-use-year
W/ the direct purchase another thing to think about w/ use year is whether you are getting current points, w/ Riv if you opt for a later use year (June, Aug., Sept., Oct., Dec.) you’ll get 2021 points & they’ll bank them for you, so you’ll start out w/ a lot of points. W/ VGF they aren’t offering 2021 points.
Personally I’d avoid Riv because the resort doesn’t appeal to me (much as I far prefer VGF over BLT) but if that’s where you really want to stay then that’s not an issue for you. I’d also be troubled by never being able to combine my resale AKV points w/ my Riv points for a stay at Riv at 7 months - but if you don’t plan to do that, then that’s less of an issue.

 

[sashinska]

The benefit of VGF is the ease to MK which is really nice. It’s MFs are less than RIV..though may not always be…and does have a lot of studios now. Point charts are a bit more than RIV and it does end 6 years less.

Your first set of points will be in the 2022 UY. An April or Oct UY will work great for the travel times. Just depends if you see yourself ever wanting to go for the holidays or summer. April UY is better for summer and Oct UY is for holidays.

RIV will be less expensive and if you go with an Oct UY, you’d get 2021 points too, as well as more years and the chance to get the SV rooms which will be tough if you do not owner there,

IMO, both are great options and I do think there is a benefit to own direct points for use at RIV and all future resorts, not to mention being eligible for whatever membership perks are there

We do not know yet which way the new Poly tower will go, and it may be restricted from resale points.

Good luck!

That's very helpful! So, am I understanding correctly that if I bought October UY before October 2022, I would get 2021 points?

 

[Sandisw]

That's very helpful! So, am I understanding correctly that if I bought October UY before October 2022, I would get 2021 points?

For RIV, yes. Not for VGF..those are starting with 2022 point#..so either April or Oct UY gives you the same.

To add, MFs are prorated from the date of purchase so regardless of what you buy, you will pay 2022 dues only.

If you went with RIV, and didn’t really need the 2021 points, they will offer to buy them back for your for $10/pt, You could get more renting, but I think it’s a nice offer for the ease of it all.

That is not an offer applicable to VGF.

 

[sashinska]

For RIV, yes. Not for VGF..those are starting with 2022 point#..so either April or Oct UY gives you the same.

To add, MFs are prorated from the date of purchase so regardless of what you buy, you will pay 2022 dues only.

If you went with RIV, and didn’t really need the 2021 points, they will offer to buy them back for your for $10/pt, You could get more renting, but I think it’s a nice offer for the ease of it all.

That is not an offer applicable to VGF.

So many little things to consider and take into account Thank you so much.

 

[sashinska]

I didn’t have an ‘exit’ strategy over a decade ago when I first bought DVC . My plan then & now is to never sell - I don’t need any more taxable gains!
I bought the 2 resorts I loved staying at because I planned to continue staying at those resorts for many years and the ease of getting the villa size & view I wanted where I wanted to stay at 11 months far outweighed a couple hundred dollar difference in initial outlay.
I have 2 home resorts (AKV & VGF) w/ 2 contracts at each home resort (so 4 contracts total) all in the same use year because I’d rather keep things simple. W/ your plan to add on later I would take a look at how many direct points were sold in the various use year months at AKV - for example Dec. at AKV is the most common AKV month sold at 33% whereas Sept. & April are the least common w/ only 7% each - so when you are shopping for your resale contract there’ll be a lot more listings for Dec. v. April or Sept.. But AKV resale listings are relatively plentiful & this wouldn’t be as big a concern as it would at some of the smaller DVC resorts which have fewer listings.
W/ the direct purchase another thing to think about w/ use year is whether you are getting current points, w/ Riv if you opt for a later use year (June, Aug., Sept., Oct., Dec.) you’ll get 2021 points & they’ll bank them for you, so you’ll start out w/ a lot of points. W/ VGF they aren’t offering 2021 points.
Personally I’d avoid Riv because the resort doesn’t appeal to me (much as I far prefer VGF over BLT) but if that’s where you really want to stay then that’s not an issue for you. I’d also be troubled by never being able to combine my resale AKV points w/ my Riv points for a stay at Riv at 7 months - but if you don’t plan to do that, then that’s less of an issue.

Hmmm... It didn't occur to me that I would not be able to combine any resale point with Rivera stay. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[CarolMN]

I'd recommend April for your use year. September would work, but if you ever find you need to walk a fall reservation, April would be better. It's unusual to have to walk for April reservations. The less expensive studios can go very quickly for the fall.

With an April use year, as long as you cancel a reservation at least 31 days in advance, you have until the end of November to bank your points if you won't use them before the end of your use year (March 31).

You sound like a good candidate for DVC if you can bring yourself to plan more than 7 months in advance, and if you buy a resort you would be happy with if you couldn't get in elsewhere. BTW, you should be able to make reservations online, so in most cases, you won't need to call MS very often.

In most cases, you will want to plan 11 months in advance for the fall, especially if you are after the less expensive studios, or the premium views. Near-park resorts can book quickly from September through Marathon Weekend (in early January). So be sure you will be OK staying at the resort you buy for most fall stays.

Good luck with your decision!

Understanding Use Year

 

[sashinska]

I understand that we should buy where we actually would love to stay and both RIV and VGF are great resorts. So the decision for us is based on additional factors. Below is what comes to mind:
VGF:
Pros: no resale restrictions
Close to MK
More dining options
Cons: most expensive
no 5th single bed

RIV
Pros: will get 2021 points if buying direct now
the newest resort
bigger deluxe studios with 5th single bed and second shower
longer contract
close to Epcot and HS
Cons: resale restrictions
higher annual dues

Am I missing something?

Thanks to everyone

 

[redboat45]

I understand that we should buy where we actually would love to stay and both RIV and VGF are great resorts. So the decision for us is based on additional factors. Below is what comes to mind:
VGF:
Pros: no resale restrictions
Close to MK
More dining options
Cons: most expensive
no 5th single bed

RIV
Pros: will get 2021 points if buying direct now
the newest resort
bigger deluxe studios with 5th single bed and second shower
longer contract
close to Epcot and HS
Cons: resale restrictions
higher annual dues

Am I missing something?

Thanks to everyone

GF has the single pull down bed in a studio. They sleep 5. They also have 2 showers... at least in the original studios.

 

[smmora]

They also have the "daybed" couch in the resort studio

 

[sndral]

…

RIV
Pros: …
bigger deluxe studios with 5th single bed and second shower
…

Riv’s regular studios are 423 sq. ft., most of the resort studios in BPK @ the VGF will be 440 sq. ft., the few turret studios will be larger.

 

[RoseGold]

I think it's worth fast forwarding many years, since you plan to hold that long.

There is no real resale RIV in play right now. If RIV drops low enough, we could see a lot of people stuck at RIV, and bookings could be very tight. Heck, I'd be a fifth class RIV resale buyer if the price were right. Or, maybe DVC buys back all the points and washes them, like they do to a lot of OKW now. No one knows yet how this works long term.

Also, expansion is on the table. The bungalows at Poly added a lot of points that weren't very useful, and the treehouses at Saratoga as well. I'd say the VGF2 expansion is the opposite, and increased VGF value, but a lot of people disagree.

CB has a couple of aging buildings close to RIV that would be in great position for conversion years from now, when there's nothing near Epcot and RIV has been long sold out. Who knows what kind of conversion that would be. The combination of bungalow-type point hogs and resale restrictions would sting. It could make RIV availability even tighter or resale even worse. And it's possible at RIV.

I know I would much rather be selling/renting out VGF than RIV in ten years.

 

[BeachClub2014]

You can't really go wrong with either choice. It comes down to preference. You have a good pro/con list to illustrate your perspective, which is great. You'll see and hear lots of opinions on the items on both lists. At the end of the day, it only matters what you and your family think, right? Especially on the whole point restriction thing. A lot of strong opinions on that piece, and not a lot of data or experience as yet, either way on the issue. For us, the restrictions are an annoyance but that's about it. We went the RIV route because it's a beautiful resort, connected to our two favorite parks, was cheaper with better incentives, we got 2021 points, and the deed lasts longer.

Good luck with your choice, and as previously stated, you really can't go wrong with either.

 

[sashinska]

Riv’s regular studios are 423 sq. ft., most of the resort studios in BPK @ the VGF will be 440 sq. ft., the few turret studios will be larger.

Thanks for the info, didn't know that. Was comparing to the original studios

 

[eticketplease]

RIV will be less expensive and if you go with an Oct UY, you’d get 2021 points too, as well as more years and the chance to get the SV rooms which will be tough if you do not owner there,

This is very true. I hope somebody is just walking but I went to book part of our 2023 Spring Break trip and 3/14/23 was gone for Standard Studio at RIV