POLL: Are you considering a new or add-on purchase at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel?

[Pens Fan]

Living in PA, we never were considering buying as we don't make it to the left coast often enough for it to make sense. But after seeing the details, even if we lived in CA we'd be out. The small number of 1 and 2 BR's, the lack of balconies and now the tax has basically made me lose interest in it even as a 7 month booking. If we can't get VGC, we'll be staying offsite.

 

[Ashlotte]

I know its not an investment but do you guys think the price will hold up well in resale say 10+ years down the line? Buy it and use it for 10 years then sell it for about what we paid for? I know with inflation and time value of money its not the same, but for a luxury purchase I think that would still make VDH a good buy.

Feels very risky with the high costs (which will increase) and resale restrictions. I know people love Disneyland, but buying it resale and being restricted to DL would be very limiting. What if down the road as people age, they don't have the health to go to DL all day? They might still be able to enjoy Aulani or the other resorts if they were to buy non-restricted properties instead. And with the high costs it makes renting it out to recoup some money a gamble as well. I think if this many diehard DVC fans aren't interested in it right now, when it is brand spanking new (and many had originally wanted to buy in) it might be tough to find a wide market later.

 

[take36]

Feels very risky with the high costs (which will increase) and resale restrictions. I know people love Disneyland, but buying it resale and being restricted to DL would be very limiting. What if down the road as people age, they don't have the health to go to DL all day? They might still be able to enjoy Aulani or the other resorts if they were to buy non-restricted properties instead. And with the high costs it makes renting it out to recoup some money a gamble as well. I think if this many diehard DVC fans aren't interested in it right now, when it is brand spanking new (and many had originally wanted to buy in) it might be tough to find a wide market later.

You make some good points, we will see how the greater Disney community reacts when the prices are official and on paper for people to sign.

An estimated/guess residual price is important to chart out and create excel sheets for those of us that plan to sell some or all of our points as our kids grow up and might not be Disney fanatics.

The restrictions for VDH and RR can definitely tank the resale value but it’s too soon to know.

 

[take36]

Living in PA, we never were considering buying as we don't make it to the left coast often enough for it to make sense. But after seeing the details, even if we lived in CA we'd be out. The small number of 1 and 2 BR's, the lack of balconies and now the tax has basically made me lose interest in it even as a 7 month booking. If we can't get VGC, we'll be staying offsite.

The Westin is beautiful and you can Uber it with the savings!

 

[Pens Fan]

The Westin is beautiful and you can Uber it with the savings!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[BrianLo]

If you just want SAP points, why go a resort with such monumentally high dues? Those you’ll have to pay year in and year out.

The dues do not bother me personally as much. It seems DVC tends to overestimate and it takes a while before they actually land. RIV dues were fairly horrendous and after a few years of stagnancy as other resorts had 5-7% annual gains, they seemingly are settling into the lower end of dues.

Now the transient tax on the other hand… If there is straight 2$ more than VGC always baked in via taxes, that’s a real long term problem that cannot be undone. But less so as sleep around points.

 

[DonMacGregor]

The dues do not bother me personally as much. It seems DVC tends to overestimate and it takes a while before they actually land. RIV dues were fairly horrendous and after a few years of stagnancy as other resorts had 5-7% annual gains, they seemingly are settling into the lower end of dues.

I don't know they could possibly be too far off. Creating a resort complete with savannas and African wildlife in the middle of a Florida swamp is one thing, adding a fourth tower to an urban hotel that already has 3 towers and 1,000 rooms and has been in operation for almost 70 years is another.

 

[BrianLo]

I’m going to buy, but I’m very disappointed. Happy with the points chart. Dues as I just posted are going to be unreliable to see where they land, but I’m expecting VGC like eventually. The parking I’m also perfectly pleased with, as I wouldn’t use parking and I’m happy not to have the membership fees subsidize it long term.

The 230pp sale price is however on the meh end, really was set on 217.

The transient tax on the other hand isn’t a deal breaker, but unless it long term causes the membership fees to settle way below VGC (which I doubt), it seems like Disney has just negotiated a horrendous deal compared to VGC. Long term I think that takes a ton of wind out of VDH.

However, I am still buying because:
-I only want a small contract (going to do 75), which I doubt can be purchased for VGC at remotely a good price.
-I appreciate the extra time on the contract.
-The direct purchase does land me long term usage at any resorts as more restricted ones come into the market. Particularly as the elephant in the room (the transient occupancy tax) does not matter for non VDH stays
-It tips me over to a DVC-Y member, for whatever little that’s worth.
-Most importantly, I really am only after Duo Studios as a mostly solo traveler. Which, even with all the horrible pricing, are still somewhat of a deal for ‘a bed’ in Anaheim. Even compared to the offsite motels.
-I like to travel during special case low seasons, that probably shouldn’t actually be in the low season. Things like D23 that they have started to shove into September or Run Disney in January. When hotel rooms are actually more expensive than the season would dictate.

So I’m buying, but mostly not impressed with yesterdays news.

 

[BrianLo]

I don't know they could possibly be too far off. Creating a resort complete with savannas and African wildlife in the middle of a Florida swamp is one thing, adding a fourth tower to an urban hotel that already has 3 towers and 1,000 rooms and has been in operation for almost 70 years is another.

Maybe I’m optimistic, but I actually think long term dues will be lower than VGC. There really isn’t any reason they should be ‘high’. Towers would be easier to maintain, less roofing costs per square meter. There’s no resort transport of merit. The Taxes and Parking are stripped out. There’s no theme park gate that needs separate security and staffing. There’s really no added amenities and they are split with a lot of other rooms on the complex as is.

I have no way to predict the future of course, but they really seem to overestimate on all their new sales. Maybe someone has more data to chime in with than my single RIV example?

Heck, I’d almost bet in three years VGC will be higher at the rate it has been going. VDH horrendous taxes would have me worried about VGC long term, frankly.

 

[West_Coast_DVC_Fam]

Until yesterday, I planned to buy 50 points at VDH. I was super bummed to see the taxes and high dues. I would have been willing to pay the price per point cost and even the higher dues, but I am not willing to pay the extra taxes.

 

[longboard55]

I own a vacation rental in Waikiki with outside management. You would not believe the expenses. Cleaning, maintenance, property taxes, utilities, security, pool maintenance, exterminators, bedding, management, insurance, gardeners, front desk, refurbish allowance, elevators, the list goes on. And if the units are not perfectly maintained everyone complains. The costs at Disney are not bad at all.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

When they originally announced this a couple of years ago, we said we would buy. Mind changed. Disney has done a lot over the last two years to show us that they are no longer a stable enough company for us to take seriously as a financial investment. We no longer feel comfortable making a long term investment in the Disney Company. Da da da da da…… you did it!! Bob Iger, you single handedly destroyed one of the most respected companies in the world. We still love Disney, just not hitching our wagon to them anymore.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Feels very risky with the high costs (which will increase) and resale restrictions. I know people love Disneyland, but buying it resale and being restricted to DL would be very limiting. What if down the road as people age, they don't have the health to go to DL all day? They might still be able to enjoy Aulani or the other resorts if they were to buy non-restricted properties instead. And with the high costs it makes renting it out to recoup some money a gamble as well. I think if this many diehard DVC fans aren't interested in it right now, when it is brand spanking new (and many had originally wanted to buy in) it might be tough to find a wide market later.

In my highly speculative opinion, I think buying at VDL (at least vs. VGC resale at approximately the same hypothetical price) will turn out to be a smarter call if Disneyland Forward builds out both theme parks closer to the hotel, and it will be a much riskier investment if they never build the parks closer to it. I would still buy VGC direct over VDH direct in some parallel universe where they were sold at the same price though!

Re: VDH, we are Southern California locals (who already own DVC direct) and were considering buying 50-75 points if there was a promotion that brought it down below $200/pt. The numbers released yesterday pushed us towards a bigger contract resale at WDW instead.

 

[limace]

I was probably at a 75% yes before the reveals and now I’m about 20%-and I think I’ll go for a resale contract if I do. The additional costs, the lack of two bedrooms (we travel with 6 at least usually)-yeah, not worth it. I’ll use our VGC points for our every other year trips and maybe try to grab a VDH studio using our small AKV contract sometime when I’m going with a small group.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

We're buying...200+ points depending on incentives, broken down into 75-100 contracts to possibly resale some down the line. Live in Northern California, and visit DL 3-4X a year, for 3-5 days visits each time. Taxes are a non issue for us, you'll pay them regardless if you stay off site, and we typically fly in, so parking is also not an issue. Own at Aulani as well, which we travel to every winter.

 

[tidefan]

One year ago, we were about 90% positive on a 50 point contract to go every 3 years and to pair with an Aulani stay. I’m in the camp that the MF’s and the TOT (and the parking, that one just on principle) are a dealbreaker. The surprising thing is that I don’t think I’ll use my points there. The value for their use is just better at the other properties. I’ll use Hilton or Marriott points and stay offsite.

 

[Aussie RJ]

I’m on the fence, leaning towards a no. Was a definite yes before the drastically high MFs and taxes were announced. Coupled with an Aulani contract this made sense to us but the break even is around 15 - 18 years.. about 8 longer than any other contract I hold.

 

[Bmramaut]

I would have loved for this poll to have been done the day before pricing dropped as well. I think there’s a lot of people of here that flipped after pricing dropped. My concern is that DVC is historically lowest when initial sales start… so it’s only going to increase right? VGC is 300 plus direct though making DLT seem like a “value”.

We are hoping for an easy 7 month window like most folks here. I’m optimistic because I do not think they are going to have the booming sales they are expecting.

 

[Tiggerette]

Is there any way to look at the PoS? I'd love to read the fine print on the operations of the resort.

Even though I'd have to pay occupancy/tourist tax staying offsite, I would be staying at a location that is much, much less than the cost of VDH per night stay. So, it's really hard to swallow paying for the points, paying for the dues, then paying for the high tax amount ontop of that. I expect taxes and annual dues only to increase over time, so it's an increasing cost for the same room year over year.

Now parking costs could easily come and go... remember when there used to be valet service included way back in the day? So, parking could be a perk or not over time. I'd like to read the PoS though, in case some of these more challenging costs are laid out there. It seems like if expenses are listed as being separate and passed to the owner/member in the PoS, it will be harder to change afterwards.

 

[Airb330]

25% though I don’t think I was ever above that since I like another member here live in PA. Don’t care about the tax, I’m glad they did it like they did (ie Aulani) versus baking it in. The parking is a ridiculous surprise. We don’t usually rent cars at WDW but at DL it’s nice since we usually make DL a part of a larger California trip. It’s really stupid to pile the parking and resale restrictions on top of the tax. While I don’t see the tax as a problem, that’s three strikes for a lot of people.

My biggest issue is the lack of balconies believe it or not! The higher costs don’t bother me since we have such good deals on AKV, GFV and Aulani (subsidized). Our average cost per point is hovering around $9 between those 3 (buy in amortized plus MF). So if we had one small contract at s higher cost it wouldn’t kill us.

But can we make these points work every 2-3 years? Unsure from PA! We LOVE Hawaii so that isn’t a problem. Is the minimum buy in still 25 for current members? DVC website says yes but that’s never up to date!