Rethinking my entire DVC strategy...help!

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Has anyone else gone somewhat far down their DVC journey and then questioned their entire strategy? Apologies in advance for the rambling…

Background: I own CCV, BWV and GVF resale – adore CCV/BWV and use those points exclusively at those resorts whereas GFV are largely SAP+ pts.

I’m in the market for my last 250-300 points and want them to be direct. Ideally this purchase would happen this year as we’re planning a large family trip next summer, and I’d like to take advantage of the extra points/blue card benefits.

Last week, I started down the path to purchase 300 direct @ RIV (though I haven’t yet signed the contract - notary appt is tmrw) - I have a June UY so waiting until summer incentives isn't ideal. I'm completely torn over whether to follow through. Given how much I love Crescent Lake and EPCOT (esp. World Showcase), I feel like I’ve talked myself into thinking Riv is the right move for direct resort in a post 2042 world.

But this little voice keeps whispering ‘buy where you love’…and if I follow that advice, it’s not Riv. Riv is a beautiful resort – we visit every trip and really enjoy our time there - and maybe that's enough reason to buy? But it’s still nowhere near BWV or BCV in my book and I'm struggling with that.

Obviously, no one can predict the future but if I buy Riv and 5 years from now they decide to convert Yacht Club (a girl can dream), my buyer’s remorse would be off the charts. And while I have zero intention of selling, I am personally finding it hard to ignore the resale restrictions entirely.

I keep coming back to 2 scenarios:

Original scenario:

• Buy direct Riv now taking advantage of strong 300 pt incentives to lock in blue card benefits

Alternate Scenario:

• Buy 150 direct Poly (assuming this stays the minimum buy in) to lock in blue card benefits with no resale restrictions, and give us the extra points we need for next summer
• Invest the money saved by not buying Riv and buy at a CL property whenever it opens…5 years, 2043, and sell VGF since I will have already had a monorail resort in Poly.

Scenario 2 came to me at 2AM so maybe that in and of itself is a sign to hit pause…WWYD?? Welcome all the collective wisdom from you kind folks!

 

[brettcw23]

Has anyone else gone somewhat far down their DVC journey and then questioned their entire strategy? Apologies in advance for the rambling…

Background: I own CCV, BWV and GVF resale – adore CCV/BWV and use those points exclusively at those resorts whereas GFV are largely SAP+ pts.

I’m in the market for my last 250-300 points and want them to be direct. Ideally this purchase would happen this year as we’re planning a large family trip next summer, and I’d like to take advantage of the extra points/blue card benefits.

Last week, I started down the path to purchase 300 direct @ RIV (though I haven’t yet signed the contract - notary appt is tmrw) - I have a June UY so waiting until summer incentives isn't ideal. I'm completely torn over whether to follow through. Given how much I love Crescent Lake and EPCOT (esp. World Showcase), I feel like I’ve talked myself into thinking Riv is the right move for direct resort in a post 2042 world.

But this little voice keeps whispering ‘buy where you love’…and if I follow that advice, it’s not Riv. Riv is a beautiful resort – we visit every trip and really enjoy our time there - and maybe that's enough reason to buy? But it’s still nowhere near BWV or BCV in my book and I'm struggling with that.

Obviously, no one can predict the future but if I buy Riv and 5 years from now they decide to convert Yacht Club (a girl can dream), my buyer’s remorse would be off the charts. And while I have zero intention of selling, I am personally finding it hard to ignore the resale restrictions entirely.

I keep coming back to 2 scenarios:

Original scenario:

• Buy direct Riv now taking advantage of strong 300 pt incentives to lock in blue card benefits

Alternate Scenario:

• Buy 150 direct Poly (assuming this stays the minimum buy in) to lock in blue card benefits with no resale restrictions, and give us the extra points we need for next summer
• Invest the money saved by not buying Riv and buy at a CL property whenever it opens…5 years, 2043, and sell VGF since I will have already had a monorail resort in Poly.

Scenario 2 came to me at 2AM so maybe that in and of itself is a sign to hit pause…WWYD?? Welcome all the collective wisdom from you kind folks!

This is like trying to solve an equation without all of the variables! Like you, we love the Crescent Lake resorts. We routinely stay at BWV/BCV as part of our split stays. We own 2 contracts at BLT, one at SSR (all direct). I've wanted to sell the SSR one and buy at BCV or BWV, but that 2042 expiration has kept me from doing it. If Yacht Club had DCV, that would be very attractive! But they don't and even if it happens, we have no way of knowing the cost per point to buy in, nor what the points chart will look like. In the grand scheme of it, I'd buy where you want to stay. You can't go wrong with that.

 

[atthebeachclub]

At least wait to see what the Poly offerings are. I think you could have some regrets if you don’t.

 

[tidefan]

You are the only one that can answer your question. DVC is a highly individualized product in how it is used, and yes, it does change over time.

I'll give you our case as an example. We own 700 Direct Points over 4 properties (SSR, BLT, GFV1, PVB). One would think that GFV and PVB would be the more desired of those, however, in the past 5 years, we've only used the 7-11 month window at SSR and BLT. Go figure. Also, we haven't stayed at Poly in the past 5 years and only have 1 current stay scheduled at VGF.

Aulani was the game-changer for us. We've been on 6 "once-in-a-lifetime" trips to Hawaii since 2013

 

[robinb]

It's so individual as many people are IN LOVE with the RIV, but I would personally not buy there. I stayed there once and while I enjoyed the Skyliner the rest of the resort was just "meh" to me and felt way too much like a nice hotel and less like a DVC resort. I'm also not fond of the additional restrictions on resales. I personally much prefer the Polynesian for theming, but I can't speak to the new tower.

I think that if you're looking to just get your foot into the direct door then maybe you should buy 150 points at the Polynesian or maybe replace your VGF points with Poly direct points and hang tight to see what the future will bring. You could also perhaps use the extra money you saved off of RIV to buy BWV/BCV points on the resale market even if they do have the 2042 expiry date to enjoy the 11-month window.

 

[intamin]

Has anyone else gone somewhat far down their DVC journey and then questioned their entire strategy? Apologies in advance for the rambling…

Background: I own CCV, BWV and GVF resale – adore CCV/BWV and use those points exclusively at those resorts whereas GFV are largely SAP+ pts.

I’m in the market for my last 250-300 points and want them to be direct. Ideally this purchase would happen this year as we’re planning a large family trip next summer, and I’d like to take advantage of the extra points/blue card benefits.

Last week, I started down the path to purchase 300 direct @ RIV (though I haven’t yet signed the contract - notary appt is tmrw) - I have a June UY so waiting until summer incentives isn't ideal. I'm completely torn over whether to follow through. Given how much I love Crescent Lake and EPCOT (esp. World Showcase), I feel like I’ve talked myself into thinking Riv is the right move for direct resort in a post 2042 world.

But this little voice keeps whispering ‘buy where you love’…and if I follow that advice, it’s not Riv. Riv is a beautiful resort – we visit every trip and really enjoy our time there - and maybe that's enough reason to buy? But it’s still nowhere near BWV or BCV in my book and I'm struggling with that.

Obviously, no one can predict the future but if I buy Riv and 5 years from now they decide to convert Yacht Club (a girl can dream), my buyer’s remorse would be off the charts. And while I have zero intention of selling, I am personally finding it hard to ignore the resale restrictions entirely.

I keep coming back to 2 scenarios:

Original scenario:

• Buy direct Riv now taking advantage of strong 300 pt incentives to lock in blue card benefits

Alternate Scenario:

• Buy 150 direct Poly (assuming this stays the minimum buy in) to lock in blue card benefits with no resale restrictions, and give us the extra points we need for next summer
• Invest the money saved by not buying Riv and buy at a CL property whenever it opens…5 years, 2043, and sell VGF since I will have already had a monorail resort in Poly.

Scenario 2 came to me at 2AM so maybe that in and of itself is a sign to hit pause…WWYD?? Welcome all the collective wisdom from you kind folks!

It's all a matter of personal preference..

For us, we love the rooms at RIV more than BWV and BCV even though it's location is not as ideal, we're willing to use the skyliner. 2042 is not negotiable for us as we'd like to have something to pass onto our children. Right now, RIV's point charts are among the highest, but once BCV and BWV reopen, I can guarantee you their point charts aren't going to be friendly and RIV's may start looking pretty nice by that point . Disney knows exactly what they have on their hands with BWV and BCV given that the resorts are booked to capacity every single time. You already have VGF so for me, that'd make me less inclined to buy Poly personally unless you're huge fans of MK. MK is our #3 of the 4 theme parks so it's lower on the totem pole for us but if you love it you could potentially do Poly.

Have you considered doing a 150 pt of RIV just to get you into the Epcot area and then with the extra money invested put that into BW/BC if/when they reopen? 300 points is a lot to buy at a resort you don't love and I have a hard time recommending you go through with scenario 1. I wouldn't have bought 300 points at RIV if we didn't love it, but alas, we do. IMO, go with 150 RIV or 150 Poly, you won't get as good of deal as you would've with 300 points, but also you'll have far more flexibility to turn around and be able to buy Poly, Yacht Club (I wish) or BW/BC in 2042.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Every family situation is so specific, it’s hard to give advice, especially when you’re trying to plan for your future selves. I don’t really care for the theming at BCV but we bought there in addition to RIV because of the SAB and specifically the vibes at Crescent lake, not even for how close it is to IG. I know I’m in the minority but the skyliner makes the location negligible when it comes to RIV. Most people put a lot of stock into the proximity to a park, and it’s definitely up there, but we’ve found that we prefer the rooms and dining at RIV more than BWV and BCV, which I think is as important (if not more so, for us) for where we stay. We also love riding the skyliner and it actually makes me a little sad on trips we don’t get to use it lol

If you don’t love RIV as much as the other resorts, it’s a lot of points to have in a so-so resort for you. But I don’t think buying Poly will solve your issue since you’re mostly concerned with the Crescent Lake resorts. Maybe look into buying more resale for now? If you’re looking to buy 2-300 direct points it won’t matter so much if the blue card benefits start at 150 or 175 if you wait a few more months/years (plus, they’ll forewarn us before they make the increase so you’ll have time to make those decisions then)

We’ll probably get confirmation of the next DVC resort by D23 in August or by the association meeting in December. My gut tells me they’ll confirm Reflections and maybe have a blue sky teaser for 5-8 years down the line, it could be a Crescent Lake addition, it might not be, but it’s still going to be many years in the future. Here’s to hoping you’ll be in a financial situation where you can buy without having to sacrifice anything when that time comes!

 

[bakerworld]

First, I don't think I'd buy 300 points at one venue - JMO
If you like RIV then purchase 150 there and the other 150 when Poly Tower come up. If you purchase the RIV now then you'll get the DVC member incentive with the Poly Tower.

All that said, it's kind hard to predict future wants. Frankly, I do not think the Yacht club will over be DVC because it is too in demand already and it is small. We've owned since '08 and only consistently use 1 contract home. The rest are all SAP. LOL

 

[AstroBlasters]

Has anyone else gone somewhat far down their DVC journey and then questioned their entire strategy? Apologies in advance for the rambling…

Background: I own CCV, BWV and GVF resale – adore CCV/BWV and use those points exclusively at those resorts whereas GFV are largely SAP+ pts.

I’m in the market for my last 250-300 points and want them to be direct. Ideally this purchase would happen this year as we’re planning a large family trip next summer, and I’d like to take advantage of the extra points/blue card benefits.

Last week, I started down the path to purchase 300 direct @ RIV (though I haven’t yet signed the contract - notary appt is tmrw) - I have a June UY so waiting until summer incentives isn't ideal. I'm completely torn over whether to follow through. Given how much I love Crescent Lake and EPCOT (esp. World Showcase), I feel like I’ve talked myself into thinking Riv is the right move for direct resort in a post 2042 world.

But this little voice keeps whispering ‘buy where you love’…and if I follow that advice, it’s not Riv. Riv is a beautiful resort – we visit every trip and really enjoy our time there - and maybe that's enough reason to buy? But it’s still nowhere near BWV or BCV in my book and I'm struggling with that.

Obviously, no one can predict the future but if I buy Riv and 5 years from now they decide to convert Yacht Club (a girl can dream), my buyer’s remorse would be off the charts. And while I have zero intention of selling, I am personally finding it hard to ignore the resale restrictions entirely.

I keep coming back to 2 scenarios:

Original scenario:

• Buy direct Riv now taking advantage of strong 300 pt incentives to lock in blue card benefits

Alternate Scenario:

• Buy 150 direct Poly (assuming this stays the minimum buy in) to lock in blue card benefits with no resale restrictions, and give us the extra points we need for next summer
• Invest the money saved by not buying Riv and buy at a CL property whenever it opens…5 years, 2043, and sell VGF since I will have already had a monorail resort in Poly.

Scenario 2 came to me at 2AM so maybe that in and of itself is a sign to hit pause…WWYD?? Welcome all the collective wisdom from you kind folks!

Life is short, nothing is guaranteed, and corporate America metrics /KPI’s us to death to increase productivity.

Spend your vacation dollars allocated to DVC points on whatever will bring you the most joy.

#buywhereyouwanttostay

 

[Disney.dad]

If you don’t want to stay at Riviera don’t buy there. The rooms and skyliner are wonderful and we are staying in a 1 bedroom at the Riviera currently. If you enjoy Poly buy there. You may want to wait until you get essentially a free year. If any use years can get 2024 Poly points, who knows. It may be that a person has to wait until 2026 to buy and get 2025 points free. A lot depends on incentives and how they play it. I wouldn’t fret over Blue card benefits unless you are planning on getting the Sorcerers pass. You can get the benefit as cheap as ever if you buy 150 Old Key West right now. We went a different route and bought 306 Disneyland Hotel points to get a summer week out there in a one bedroom. Riviera is very possible to get into with points from say Poly or Old Key West if you are willing to pay for a preferred room and do it at 7 months exactly most of the year for now. Especially for a 1 bedroom. Standard view studios offer a good value at Riviera. We bought a bunch of resale points around 110 per point and don’t mind the restrictions as part of a larger portfolio.

 

[AstroBlasters]

If you don’t want to stay at Riviera don’t buy there. The rooms and skyliner are wonderful and we are staying in a 1 bedroom at the Riviera currently. If you enjoy Poly buy there. You may want to wait until you get essentially a free year. If any use years can get 2024 Poly points, who knows. It may be that a person has to wait until 2026 to buy and get 2025 points free. A lot depends on incentives and how they play it. I wouldn’t fret over Blue card benefits unless you are planning on getting the Sorcerers pass. You can get the benefit as cheap as ever if you buy 150 Old Key West right now. We went a different route and bought 306 Disneyland Hotel points to get a summer week out there in a one bedroom. Riviera is very possible to get into with points from say Poly or Old Key West if you are willing to pay for a preferred room and do it at 7 months exactly most of the year for now. Especially for a 1 bedroom. Standard view studios offer a good value at Riviera. We bought a bunch of resale points around 110 per point and don’t mind the restrictions as part of a larger portfolio.

Fixed week.. pro move!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

A lot of good advice in this thread—I just wanted to point out that in addition to money you save on 150 points you don’t buy at a resort you don’t love, you’d also be saving about $10/yr/pt on dues…People buy bigger contracts for the incentives, but the $5-15/point you typically save with a bigger purchase gets eaten up in a year or two of extra dues AND that’s before you consider how much more you end up spending when you increase 1 WDW trip a year to 2 or even just staying 8 nights instead of 5.

300 points at RIV is quite a lot…if you do decide on a contract that big, I would absolutely pay a bit more in closing costs to split into 2-3 contracts.

 

[Coronator]

Buy the RIV points if you like RIV at all. At 300 points, the incentives are great now (and I doubt they will get better, but you can certainly wait until the end of spring and get a “free look” at the summer incentives if you want). Buying direct points at resorts that aren’t being actively sold/incentivized is like throwing money away (and I doubt the Poly incentives will be much of anything, if anything at all).

You are getting a 2070 resort with RIV, so they are basically forever points. And it’s not like you still can’t book BCV or BWV - I just booked four nights at a 2 bedroom at BCV for July 7-11th with my RIV points (less than two months from our stay). Unless you have to stay in studios or at peak times all the time, the lack of availability for BCV and BWV is far exaggerated IMO.

If you love Epcot, RIV is the way to go right now for direct points.

 

[Coronator]

A lot of good advice in this thread—I just wanted to point out that in addition to money you save on 150 points you don’t buy at a resort you don’t love, you’d also be saving about $10/yr/pt on dues…People buy bigger contracts for the incentives, but the $5-15/point you typically save with a bigger purchase gets eaten up in a year or two of extra dues AND that’s before you consider how much more you end up spending when you increase 1 WDW trip a year to 2 or even just staying 8 nights instead of 5.

300 points at RIV is quite a lot…if you do decide on a contract that big, I would absolutely pay a bit more in closing costs to split into 2-3 contracts.

I don’t think 300 points at RIV is a lot - my hot take is it’s pretty close to the minimum you need if you want to be staying there consistently. With the point chart, that gets you around a week in a 1 bedroom. If you are ever wanting 2 bedrooms, you are going to want even more than that.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

A lot of good advice in this thread—I just wanted to point out that in addition to money you save on 150 points you don’t buy at a resort you don’t love, you’d also be saving about $10/yr/pt on dues…People buy bigger contracts for the incentives, but the $5-15/point you typically save with a bigger purchase gets eaten up in a year or two of extra dues AND that’s before you consider how much more you end up spending when you increase 1 WDW trip a year to 2 or even just staying 8 nights instead of 5.

300 points at RIV is quite a lot…if you do decide on a contract that big, I would absolutely pay a bit more in closing costs to split into 2-3 contracts.

Yes - I should have said that up front but was already rambling so much I forgot. My 300 was 2 fixed weeks + a bit extra. Completely agree with avoiding 300 pt. contract.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I don’t think 300 points at RIV is a lot - my hot take is it’s pretty close to the minimum you need if you want to be staying there consistently. With the point chart, that gets you around a week in a 1 bedroom. If you are ever wanting 2 bedrooms, you are going to want even more than that.

I meant that it’s a lot to try to resell as a block of restricted points. Not sure that 75-150 point contracts are doing that much better on the resale market but people are likely going to be anxious about committing to a resort where they have to spend 300 points a year if they aren’t absolutely certain they can book more than 7mo out.

Editing because @Sprinkles&Sprints provided more info as I was posting— I think 2 fixed weeks makes a ton of sense and should help with resale at RIV (or any other restricted resale resort).

 

[Disney.dad]

If you don’t want to stay at Riviera don’t buy there. The rooms and skyliner are wonderful and we are staying in a 1 bedroom at the Riviera currently. If you enjoy Poly buy there. You may want to wait until you get essentially a free year. If any use years can get 2024 Poly points, who knows. It may be that a person has to wait until 2026 to buy and get 2025 points free. A lot depends on incentives and how they play it. I wouldn’t fret over Blue card benefits unless you are planning on getting the Sorcerers pass. You can get the benefit as cheap as ever if you buy 150 Old Key West right now. We went a different route and bought 306 Disneyland Hotel points to get a summer week out there in a one bedroom. Riviera is very possible to get into with points from say Poly or Old Key West if you are willing to pay for a preferred room and do it at 7 months exactly most of the year for now. Especially for a 1 bedroom. Standard view studios offer a good value at Riviera. We bought a bunch of resale points around 110 per point and don’t mind the restrictions as part of a larger portfolio.

 

[Genie+]

Alternate Scenario:

• Buy 150 direct Poly (assuming this stays the minimum buy in) to lock in blue card benefits with no resale restrictions, and give us the extra points we need for next summer
• Invest the money saved by not buying Riv and buy at a CL property whenever it opens…5 years, 2043, and sell VGF since I will have already had a monorail resort in Poly.

Scenario 2 came to me at 2AM so maybe that in and of itself is a sign to hit pause…WWYD?? Welcome all the collective wisdom from you kind folks!

I didn’t read any other posts first, so they wouldn’t taint my reaction.

There’s always a tinge of ‘am I doing the best thing’ with bigger decisions. To be expected.

We couldn’t get over the red flags with RIV though, especially when other choices felt less risky. If you end up wanting a different resort for home privilege and selling has a decent shot of being one of the crappier salvage values in DVC. Double whammy. I’d feel better reducing chance of one of those concerns. Either have a better feeling about sticking with the resort or buying somewhere that had a better chance at salvage value.

VGF direct didn’t leave us with the same unease. Poly Tower doesn’t either. Those look better to me because A) they are resorts we’re fairly certain wouldn’t mind staying 50%+ of the time, and B) if I needed to sell, these contracts have alot of positives that should help keep them out of the lower tier return on salvage value compared to other DVC choices. Cool resorts, popular location, tradable resale, and there’s limited real estate on 7 Seas Lagoon so how much more competition can they put right there.

Even if all DVC resale prices drop across the board, I’d rather tie my cart where less likely to take one of the bigger hits.

DVC should make us excited, not scared

 

[Sandisw]

Don’t buy RIV is you think you could have buyers remorse down the line. DVC is just too expensive to not get a place you will enjoy owning and staying at now and in the future.

We did buy in when BLT was built and it was our favorite….and owned at BWV,, BRV was well… but then VGF came along and finsllly RIV and we realized these can’t be beat,

Now, we sold them to buy the ones we have now, but not because of buyers remorse but because I want what I want!

It sounds like option 2 is better for you right now!

 

[BrianLo]

At least wait to see what the Poly offerings are. I think you could have some regrets if you don’t.

The trouble is the June UY. They have a very narrow window for 2023 points remaining. I'm not as aggressive on Poly pricing as everyone else, but there's essentially no world where I think Poly comes out fiscally ahead (of both the RIV current direct pricing, forgoing a 'free' year of points and the current RIV incentives).