Purchasing strategy - RIV vs wait for Poly

[supercarrie]

I’m jealous, contemplating starting a contract next weekend and waiting until the 25th to see what the new incentives are and if they release any news of the poly tower.

I think I’d actually prefer the Riviera for the proximity to Epcot and the food and wine festival. I like the international gate much better.

Definitely sign before these incentives expire, and then have your guide do an extended close. You then have 90 days to back out with no penalty (or switch to the Poly, or use the new incentives, if better!) Even if you don't do an extended close, you have the 10 day right of rescission built in.

We went back and forth (and still are, sort of!) but I didn't want to miss out on these incentives, which are pretty good.

 

[sarahlord]

Definitely sign before these incentives expire, and then have your guide do an extended close. You then have 90 days to back out with no penalty (or switch to the Poly, or use the new incentives, if better!) Even if you don't do an extended close, you have the 10 day right of rescission built in.

We went back and forth (and still are, sort of!) but I didn't want to miss out on these incentives, which are pretty good.

Yes I guess part of my concern is I don’t know how good this incentive really is. I’m a first time buyer so the incentive is less than current members but I don’t know how this compares to the last few rounds of incentives.

When I did the math with magical beginnings and $500 military credit it came out to about $186.66 a point. I have no idea if that’s decent or not

 

[intamin]

Yes I guess part of my concern is I don’t know how good this incentive really is. I’m a first time buyer so the incentive is less than current members but I don’t know how this compares to the last few rounds of incentives.

When I did the math with magical beginnings and $500 military credit it came out to about $186.66 a point. I have no idea if that’s decent or not

That seems about right, you should also be getting Dream it Forward for an additional 500 dollars off. You can refer to the Dream it forward referral thread if you need one!

RIV direct after MB has been going in the 170s or so. I think mine back in November came out to 173 or so but I was already a member at that point. IMO if you have a trip coming up that you need to book, it's better to just go ahead and buy it just before the incentives end so you can cancel within the 10 day rescission period if the next round is better and then just choose between the better of the two and be done with it. The value of being able to book an upcoming trip with points instead of cash/renting points outweighs a couple hundred dollars in savings.

 

[supercarrie]

Yes I guess part of my concern is I don’t know how good this incentive really is. I’m a first time buyer so the incentive is less than current members but I don’t know how this compares to the last few rounds of incentives.

When I did the math with magical beginnings and $500 military credit it came out to about $186.66 a point. I have no idea if that’s decent or not

You can find the historical incentives on www.dvcnews.com. Just search for summer 2023 incentives, fall 2023 incentives, etc. In general, prices continue to go up, not down. There are exceptions, like the GF fire sale of last summer, or the OKW sale for members this last round, but if you want RIV, I don't believe the pricing has substantially decreased since it originally went on sale.

The base price continues to increase (it increased from $217 to $225 in January) so although incentives might seem better on paper, with the base price hikes, they are kind of a wash. Also consider that as you wait, there is less time left on the contract, so you are likely spending more for less time.

Since you are a first time buyer, are you set on RIV and direct?

 

[sarahlord]

You can find the historical incentives on www.dvcnews.com. Just search for summer 2023 incentives, fall 2023 incentives, etc. In general, prices continue to go up, not down. There are exceptions, like the GF fire sale of last summer, or the OKW sale for members this last round, but if you want RIV, I don't believe the pricing has substantially decreased since it originally went on sale.

The base price continues to increase (it increased from $217 to $225 in January) so although incentives might seem better on paper, with the base price hikes, they are kind of a wash. Also consider that as you wait, there is less time left on the contract, so you are likely spending more for less time.

Since you are a first time buyer, are you set on RIV and direct?

No i’m not set on Riviera and I’m not set on buying direct. But I really despise the busses so I was looking for a place with other modes of transportation.

Also figured once the kids didn’t want to go anymore I’d rather be close to Epcot for food and wine in the fall hence Riviera and wanting priority booking there. I would absolutely buy beach or boardwalk resale if the contract was longer….

Also I would like to be able to stay at whatever comes after beach and boardwalk which the direct would provide.

 

[sarahlord]

That seems about right, you should also be getting Dream it Forward for an additional 500 dollars off. You can refer to the Dream it forward referral thread if you need one!

RIV direct after MB has been going in the 170s or so. I think mine back in November came out to 173 or so but I was already a member at that point. IMO if you have a trip coming up that you need to book, it's better to just go ahead and buy it just before the incentives end so you can cancel within the 10 day rescission period if the next round is better and then just choose between the better of the two and be done with it. The value of being able to book an upcoming trip with points instead of cash/renting points outweighs a couple hundred dollars in savings.

I do have a trip planned in October but the availability chart that’s out there doesn’t look good for my dates so I don’t think I’d use points this year.

 

[abiksr]

We placed our deposit down on a FW 7, standard studio at Riviera today! It is a 153 point contract.

As mentioned above, our guide set it up with a 90 day close (mid-Sept) so that we can look at summer incentives and apply if they are better (this will not require a rewrite of the contract) or if Poly news comes out and we decide to switch over to that, we can rewrite our contract with no penalty and apply any funds paid to the Poly contract.

Thanks again to everyone who weighed in!

wow, after spending days in disboards, this is the exact same setup we are deciding to go as well. @supercarrie : Did this workout well for you ?

 

[supercarrie]

wow, after spending days in disboards, this is the exact same setup we are deciding to go as well. @supercarrie : Did this workout well for you ?

We only purchased in June and close in mid-September, and of course Poly isn't on sale yet, so who knows! However, even if Poly did go on sale prior to our close, we have decided to stick with Riviera.

We are at WDW right now and spent additional time at Riviera and Poly over the past few days. This helped solidify our decision and we are very happy! Enjoyed a nice stay at the Boardwalk, enjoyed the Top of the World Lounge at BLT, and are looking forward to checking out the Disney Springs lounge tomorrow.

 

[matt and beth]

Because you asked for opinion… RIV would be a hard no. The restrictions are crushing. Poly or the new Reflections resort coming out in the next year or two. Like others said… maybe venture out the Epcot resorts.

 

[Disney_escape]

Because you asked for opinion… RIV would be a hard no. The restrictions are crushing. Poly or the new Reflections resort coming out in the next year or two. Like others said… maybe venture out the Epcot resorts.

I would think Reflections would carry the same restrictions as the RIV and the restrictions only matter when selling.

 

[intamin]

I would think Reflections would carry the same restrictions as the RIV and the restrictions only matter when selling.

Reflections if/when it opens will definitely have restrictions on it.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

The restrictions are crushing

I’m not sure this is really true anymore. I think RIV has proven that if the resort is good enough, people will deal with the potential resale issue of selling their RIV contract if it ever comes to that. Disney doesn’t seem to want to back down from restrictions and as long as you don’t look at DVC as any sort of investment and plan to keep your contract for at least 8-10y yrs, you’ll be able to sell to your restricted contract on the resale market and still walk away with some of your money back…no different from most of the other resorts.

I think the greater worry was if RIV resale would have any value at all because who would buy a contract restricted to 1 resort, and as the last few years has shown, apparently many would. Certainly takes away the crushing aspect of restrictions and makes them an inconvenience, or at worst, a slightly bigger hit on your potential resale value than some other resorts.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I’m not sure this is really true anymore. I think RIV has proven that if the resort is good enough, people will deal with the potential resale issue of selling their RIV contract if it ever comes to that. Disney doesn’t seem to want to back down from restrictions and as long as you don’t look at DVC as any sort of investment and plan to keep your contract for at least 8-10y yrs, you’ll be able to sell to your restricted contract on the resale market and still walk away with some of your money back…no different from most of the other resorts.

I think the greater worry was if RIV resale would have any value at all because who would buy a contract restricted to 1 resort, and as the last few years has shown, apparently many would. Certainly takes away the crushing aspect of restrictions and makes them an inconvenience, or at worst, a slightly bigger hit on your potential resale value than some other resorts.

When RIV is no longer available via direct sale at all, I wonder if the resale market will see (even a slight) positive bump.

 

[Sandisw]

When RIV is no longer available via direct sale at all, I wonder if the resale market will see (even a slight) positive bump.

I think it will…at least to the point that the loss will be less than the use people got from it.

And, if more resorts end up restricted, then that will begin to stabilize things too.

 

[abiksr]

My FINAL strategy:

1. Have a contract written up for 153 points week 7 FW RIV contract with 90 days payment period.
2. Will check for new incentives after Sep 20 and will change it if new RIV incentives are better.
3. IF poly price comes out before my 90 day period ends and incentives are decent (I have a certain dollar amount in mind which I am willing to pay more for Poly), will rewrite the RIV contract into a Poly one.

Unrelated note: I got my points loaded within 2 hours of giving the final go ahead to my guide. Comparing that to resale…….

 

[VGCgroupie]

My FINAL strategy:

1. Have a contract written up for 153 points week 7 FW RIV contract with 90 days payment period.
2. Will check for new incentives after Sep 20 and will change it if new RIV incentives are better.
3. IF poly price comes out before my 90 day period ends and incentives are decent (I have a certain dollar amount in mind which I am willing to pay more for Poly), will rewrite the RIV contract into a Poly one.

Unrelated note: I got my points loaded within 2 hours of giving the final go ahead to my guide. Comparing that to resale…….

Yeah it really makes buying resale even worse if a wait when you get your points so quick.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

2. Will check for new incentives after Sep 20 and will change it if new RIV incentives are better.

Did you mean after Sept 30?

Congrats!

 

[abiksr]

Did you mean after Sept 30?

Congrats!

Yea, whenever they release. Technically, I have time till 5th of Nov. fingers crossed we get good poly incentive.

 

[abiksr]

Yeah it really makes buying resale even worse if a wait when you get your points so quick.

100%, my resale contract that I signed and paid weeks ago is still not closed. Hahah

 

[RuntheMouse]

100%, my resale contract that I signed and paid weeks ago is still not closed. Hahah

Feeling this! At this point we’re stuck waiting until the closing deadline passes and we’re moving on. It’s been terribly painful waiting.