ROFR Thread April to June 2025 *PLEASE SEE FIRST POST FOR INSTRUCTIONS & FORMATTING TOOL*

[Girlstar30]

There has to be people willing to buy Riv without incentives for Disney to want to do all these ROFR's and resell them. Riv selling for $280 a point with restrictions is an even tougher sell for them..

 

[intamin]

There has to be people willing to buy Riv without incentives for Disney to want to do all these ROFR's and resell them. Riv selling for $280 a point with restrictions is an even tougher sell for them..

I'd imagine if they're buying back at under 100 per point they could put some nice incentives on it though to entice people to buy it again if necessary.

 

[Girlstar30]

I'd imagine if they're buying back at under 100 per point they could put some nice incentives on it though to entice people to buy it again if necessary.

Yes nice incentives would get people for sure, it will be interesting to see what they do

 

[Brian Noble]

There has to be people willing to buy Riv without incentives for Disney to want to do all these ROFR's and resell them. Riv selling for $280 a point with restrictions is an even tougher sell for them..

Excpet that it isn't, because there won't be that many, and some current owners will want to add on (a) at their home resort but (b) have points that are not restricted.

"I would not do it" is not the same as "no one would do it." Once the resort reaches steady state and the purchase foreclosure wave has passed, there won't be that many they have to move. Instead, they are more likely to ROFR opportunistically if the Dues foreclosure process does not generate enough inventory to meet organic demand.

 

[Girlstar30]

Excpet that it isn't, because there won't be that many, and some current owners will want to add on (a) at their home resort but (b) have points that are not restricted.

"I would not do it" is not the same as "no one would do it." Once the resort reaches steady state and the purchase foreclosure wave has passed, there won't be that many they have to move. Instead, they are more likely to ROFR opportunistically if the Dues foreclosure process does not generate enough inventory to meet organic demand.

People will buy it, it just might not be as in demand as some people think it will be, unless they do some nice incentives here and there

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

There has to be people willing to buy Riv without incentives for Disney to want to do all these ROFR's and resell them. Riv selling for $280 a point with restrictions is an even tougher sell for them..

I don’t disagree with you. But then it comes down to the resale price question again. If RIV is a resort you like and want to say at often, would you buy resale RIV at $100? Or $120? If the alternative is $280 or higher?? Or is it still only worth it at $75 so then it’s a never buy? Which is totally fine but I still think plenty will do one option or the other. For me, even now, a 75-100 point contract is worth $120ish. Increase the sold out price, and it’s a steal, but I love the resort and I know it’s not for everyone.

I will say, if DVD just put some effort into really bulking up the value of direct membership they never would have had to put restrictions on anything. Direct would sell itself for true benefits and resale would still have the value of deluxe hotel stays. But alas, here we are now.

 

[Girlstar30]

I don’t disagree with you. But then it comes down to the resale price question again. If RIV is a resort you like and want to say at often, would you buy resale RIV at $100? Or $120? If the alternative is $280 or higher?? Or is it still only worth it at $75 so then it’s a never buy? Which is totally fine but I still think plenty will do one option or the other. For me, even now, a 75-100 point contract is worth $120ish. Increase the sold out price, and it’s a steal, but I love the resort and I know it’s not for everyone.

I will say, if DVD just put some effort into really bulking up the value of direct membership they never would have had to put restrictions on anything. Direct would sell itself for true benefits and resale would still have the value of deluxe hotel stays. But alas, here we are now.

The whole thing just makes me mad lol Riviera is worthy to be in the ranks of poly, vgf etc and they had to go and mess it up lol.

I will say my goal is to buy Riv direct at a good price and not think of the resale value, which I personally don't think will be good, but as you said who cares I love the resort (so far) and the extra years on it more than make up for the cost if I see the whole thing through.

Of course no one knows what will happen tomorrow so none of us can guarantee if this thing is worth it or no matter how we buy. My plan to go all resale and rent comes with a lot of hassle and annoyance I will be the first to admit, im dealing with that now and its pushing me towards direct again.

I think I love what I got going on so far and I hope that they do lower the price for direct, but if not, for me personally i am not willing to pay that cost for a riv resale and id rather go for a direct resort I don't like as much with incentives ie poly or perhaps lsl to access riviera here and there.

 

[Smilelea]

Just to make sure I understand these restrictions correctly, we are blue card due to a small poly direct contract in 2017. We also have a resell AKV contract from the same year. So if we were to purchase Riv resell, our direct Poly points would also work there, but our AKV points would not, is that correct?

 

[Maleficent85]

For the typical once-or-twice-a-year visitor, I think the restriction to only book RIV is huge. If your dates aren't there, you're screwed. I think that realization is just starting to settle in on some of the more casual fan sites. I can see a situation where RIV price even dips below $100.

That is a very very valid point with buying resale Riviera. We are currently traveling to Disney 3 or 4 times a year. We also stay in 1 bedrooms which for most resorts are an easier reservation to get. We are also planning our trips before the 11 month window and book as soon as our window opens. We have friends that were interested in buying Riviera resale and we told them that they were really bad candidates for Riviera since they aren't normally booking at the 11 month mark and will occasionally book less than 7 months out. They also like studios to budget their points. Riviera resale isn't for everyone. I also wouldn't recommend it if it was going to be the only contract. We currently have a 350 point Riviera and a 175 pointer resale. We've also rented points and used the funds to swap into Universal and cruises. We had a 250 point resale contract bought for $115 that was quad loaded when we bought it for $115. We ended up using 2.5 years of points (2 trips in 1 bedrooms and a points transfer into our other existing Riviera). We ended up selling it and came out really well considering the amount of points used before selling. If buying Riviera direct I would be pay a little more to break the contract up into 2-4 small contracts (you still get the incentives for 300 points if you were to break it into 75 point contracts). It gives you a safety net if you ever needed to sell. I felt bad for the hit that those 3 contracts we bought took considering the price that was paid direct. DVC is definitely something that you need to know your in and outs about to not lose you butt.

 

[Tatebeck]

Just to make sure I understand these restrictions correctly, we are blue card due to a small poly direct contract in 2017. We also have a resell AKV contract from the same year. So if we were to purchase Riv resell, our direct Poly points would also work there, but our AKV points would not, is that correct?

If bought before 2019 I believe your resale points should work at any DVC resort, but just may not be swappable for cruises or some of the other swap options

 

[Smilelea]

If bought before 2019 I believe your resale points should work at any DVC resort, but just may not be swappable for cruises or some of the other swap options

Thank you. So many “ifs” and “buts” in all these restrictions!

 

[Sandisw]

Just to make sure I understand these restrictions correctly, we are blue card due to a small poly direct contract in 2017. We also have a resell AKV contract from the same year. So if we were to purchase Riv resell, our direct Poly points would also work there, but our AKV points would not, is that correct?

The eligibility for membership extras,,,DVC Y or blue card…had no impact in where points can be used at the DVC resorts.

All direct points are good everywhere. Resale points purchase prior to 2019 are grandfathered everywhere.

Resale points purchase post January 2019 are restricted.

So, if what you own was all purchased resale 2017 or earlier, those are good.

 

[KeithSS]

KEITHSS---$90.5-$22977-220-OKW(E)-Oct-130/24, 220/25, 220/26- sent 5/2

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Right, and the restrictions make the RIV direct points look so much better. So even though Disney may not ROFR anything while they are actively selling, once RIV and other restricted resorts sell out I expect they will be good targets for Disney to ROFR. Similar to OKW 2042 contracts right now that they can buy back and resell with more features. Extended for OKW but without resale restrictions for the newer resorts. It is an easy upgrade and resell for them.

Restrictions will make resale prices drop yes, but that makes it a cheaper buyback for Disney. And once bought back, the restrictions are gone and they can sell them as direct again at full price. I suspect this is at least part of Disney's reason for adding resale restrictions to newer resorts. Make resale less appealing and they are the only ones with the option to buy the contracts back and get rid of the restrictions on the points

Now, if an owner waits, that’s on them so if they can’t book when window opens, it’s not the product for them.

I actually think once it’s sold out, we will see things stabilize and potentially go up because DVD will price it as a sold out resort

I agree that if you can't book (most) of your trips 10+ months out RIV resale is not for you, but I also think it means that all of the DVC at DLR is not for you (because you're paying a big premium to own a DLR resort and they tend to get pretty full well before the 7mo mark), whether direct or resale. The alternative is trying to book way out in advance with current year points and banking if you can't use it, but this is riskier if you can't make it work two years in a row.

As far as how RIV fares after it sells out, I think it may do better for a while but only until Disney announces the next property around Crescent Lake--- perhaps there's a 10+ year window between RIV selling out and when they start to tell people what will happen to BCV/BWV in 2042, but while there are some people who really love Riviera, I see far more people buying it because it's the only EPCOT game in town right now. If do a conversion at YC or a new tower at BC or a front gate resort, I don't think many people are going to be willing to pay sold out resort prices for Riviera direct, which will limit the amount of ROFR activity on RIV resale.

Right, but that was kind of my point. Current prices are without ROFR intervention. We won’t really know the value of resale RIV until it sells out and see where DVC finds the value to buy and resell direct. It doesn’t matter how we all feel about what’s its worth. I also think the sold out prices of DVC resorts will go up steadily so by the time RIV sells out, its direct pricing could be upwards of $280. A resale product going at $100/$110 (maybe more idk) for a resort with 40+yrs on it is huge value to DVD who are taking the inferior product (that fewer people want) and making it the more desired product for a hefty profit.

We may see some ROFR, but as others have pointed out, with 10 and now 15 year loans at very high interest rates, I would expect Disney will get some back in foreclosure. It does seem like an appealing flip opportunity for DVC, but not if they have other new properties on sale... I think there are some scenarios where RIV could get a boost from ROFR and stay above $100 for most of the next decade, but I would expect a new better located Epcot property to spring up at some point by 2035 and I think RIV will be back below where it is now (at least in inflation adjusted dollars) when that happens.

There’s obviously tons of unknown variables here, and mostly that includes what DVC is planning for the Epcot resort’s future. But that’s why I said for at least the next few years I don’t see it dipping too much further.

It seems there's a decent number of people interested to buy it around $100, so I also don't expect it to drop much more from here unless/until there's a real economic downturn or DVC announces a new Epcot resort.

 

[Tatebeck]

I agree that if you can't book (most) of your trips 10+ months out RIV resale is not for you, but I also think it means that all of the DVC at DLR is not for you (because you're paying a big premium to own a DLR resort and they tend to get pretty full well before the 7mo mark), whether direct or resale. The alternative is trying to book way out in advance with current year points and banking if you can't use it, but this is riskier if you can't make it work two years in a row.

As far as how RIV fares after it sells out, I think it may do better for a while but only until Disney announces the next property around Crescent Lake--- perhaps there's a 10+ year window between RIV selling out and when they start to tell people what will happen to BCV/BWV in 2042, but while there are some people who really love Riviera, I see far more people buying it because it's the only EPCOT game in town right now. If do a conversion at YC or a new tower at BC or a front gate resort, I don't think many people are going to be willing to pay sold out resort prices for Riviera direct, which will limit the amount of ROFR activity on RIV resale.

Even as a RIV owner I would love a new EPCOT resort with more walking access or direct access. A new Epcot resort releasing would only really affect RIV while it is actively selling, so what will that be, a few years if it is really popular before the new resort sells out?

Anything they release for the EPCOT area would almost 100% be restricted just like RIV. Whether its a new resort, a RIV expansion, even a YC wing or a BC tower. BCV/BWV on crescent lake are just expiring too soon to do the same association thing they did with VGF BPK expansion and Poly Tower.

So for a few years, direct RIV at "sold out" prices would look like a terrible deal compared to the new one that DVC would be actively selling and incentivizing. Which is what DVC wants (to sell the newly build resort ASAP). After that if it has a better location and a longer expiration than RIV, I would expect it to have a higher sold out price than RIV and then we are back to where we will be at when RIV sells out.

They may just hold onto any RIV points they get via foreclosure/ROFR and rent them out until the newer resort is sold out. RIV is made to be a 100% DVC resort but there will likely be some people who still want to pay the high cash price for it like they do now with the undeclared part of the resort. Then we will be again eventually left with Restricted cheap points for the area, Direct expensive sold out points for the area, or points that expire in 2042 with BCV and BWV.

 

[Disney_escape]

For the typical once-or-twice-a-year visitor, I think the restriction to only book RIV is huge. If your dates aren't there, you're screwed. I think that realization is just starting to settle in on some of the more casual fan sites. I can see a situation where RIV price even dips below $100.

I'm definitely not a fan of the restrictions, but I would think most once or twice/year visitors are traveling and probably plan further in advance. The one advantage Riviera has is there are a lot of units.

 

[Jonnnyap]

I'd agree with both @Tatebeck and @Sandisw regarding RIV resale. I imagine a lot of people who did buy it were okay with using the points simply to upgrade from a studio to a 1BR for example or a 2BR to a GV. There's definitely still value on the "less desirable" room categories at 11 months for an owner who maybe already has a healthy amount of RIV direct.

It's not like they won't be able to book ANYTHING. Preferred view is so readily available while not as ideal as standard and I'd imagine the delta of buy in cost helps offset that increased point cost if that's the only thing that's left.

I agree that there is availability for rooms (I.e., preferred, etc. as you point out) currently, but what if RIV is expanded with CCV-style cabins or Poly-style bungalows, adding a ton of owners but low-desired rooms. Availability of rooms for restricted owners could take a very bad turn.

I’m not saying this will happen, but the possibility keeps me from even considering restricted RIV points, despite me loving the resort for a number of reasons.

 

[Girlstar30]

I agree that there is availability for rooms (I.e., preferred, etc. as you point out) currently, but what if RIV is expanded with CCV-style cabins or Poly-style bungalows, adding a ton of owners but low-desired rooms. Availability of rooms for restricted owners could take a very bad turn.

I’m not saying this will happen, but the possibility keeps me from even considering restricted RIV points, despite me loving the resort for a number of reasons.

I'm down for mini castles

 

[Sandisw]

I agree that there is availability for rooms (I.e., preferred, etc. as you point out) currently, but what if RIV is expanded with CCV-style cabins or Poly-style bungalows, adding a ton of owners but low-desired rooms. Availability of rooms for restricted owners could take a very bad turn.

I’m not saying this will happen, but the possibility keeps me from even considering restricted RIV points, despite me loving the resort for a number of reasons.

One thing you always have to remember is that DVD controls things so if they did this, it is also very possible they could implement a pay for play for those with restricted points. They could decide at any time to simply remove them.

It is definitely a niche product and one has to understand that you have to do certain things that are not as critical with points that can trade at 7 months....

And, we have seen them add things to resorts already that have impacts and not much owners can do. The demand at VGF for the deluxe studios is much higher now with the addition of BPK resort studios. We don't like those at all so now, if I want a deluxe, I have to make sure I go on right at 8 am to book it and have now begun to spec book them for potential trips, just in case.

So, if one is really not comfortable, then I agree, it may not be a good choice.

 

[intamin]

I agree that there is availability for rooms (I.e., preferred, etc. as you point out) currently, but what if RIV is expanded with CCV-style cabins or Poly-style bungalows, adding a ton of owners but low-desired rooms. Availability of rooms for restricted owners could take a very bad turn.

I’m not saying this will happen, but the possibility keeps me from even considering restricted RIV points, despite me loving the resort for a number of reasons.

If they made a RIV bungalow equivalent I would buy resale RIV points to use there because people don't buy points for the most expensive rooms, everyone's fighting over the value AKVs, tower studios, standard Boardwalks. Seems like the availability would be really easy and I could use resale RIV points there without an issue . As it stands though I'd be surprised if they added more to RIV realistically like you said. I think when you buy a resale restricted resorts on resale, you should go in with the mindset that you very likely will have to settle for less than ideal room categories but hey, you're still getting to stay at one of your favorite resorts so it's not even a bad deal.