starting out - direct vs. resale

[sethschroeder]

This would put Riviera squarely behind Copper Creek resale in terms of NPV. Two extra years 50 years from now are worth pennies on the dollar.

It might change but CCV was getting bought back at $160+ and one contract even bought back at $170 in January. So a $5-$10 difference in price for Direct vs Resale is really not that big of a gap if you are getting 300 points but if you are only getting 150 points that RIV price goes to $199 and it becomes a bigger gap accounting for maybe $5k.

Such as?

Direct does and will have perks we went through this same thing previously as well.

• There will be ticket discounts long term - they may not be APs but for now the DVC AP is not going anywhere its just not being sold (just like all APs)
• Merch/Dining Discounts - this isn't a ton but it would add up over time but some discounts can also be had if you just had a Disney Visa
• Special Events - cool if you are flexible to travel otherwise fairly worthless
• Location in Epcot - for now at least you can get soda and some basic bagged snacks
• Any future offering

In the end just have to see what the cost difference is between your options to get a good idea if going direct is "worth" it for you.

 

[RoseGold]

We are pretty flexible on where we would stay or even doing a split stay… I see that you can get on a waitlist to try to get something specific. if I were to own at SSR can I book there at the 11 months and also get on a waitlist at 7mo for POLY or even more than one waitlist at a time (ie poly AND boardwalk) to see if anything becomes available?

This is a product with extreme differences in demand by season and room. Club level AKL or OKW grand villa are going to near impossible to get all the time. Peak times are going to be very difficult. Everything else will be somewhere in the middle. We have no idea when you are traveling or what you want to book.

I bought SSR planning to book 1BR at off-peak times, and that has worked great. 1BRs tend to be the last to go because they are point hogs. But it depends on how flexible you are and what you are trying to get.

You can only have two waitlists at a time, and waitlists for multiple nights are tough to fill. And the waitlists are Disney IT...

 

[GetMeOnSpaceMtn]

We are just buying in now and are looking at AKL resale. I don't see much of a value to us in going direct. Not one that would justify a $50-60 increase per point at GFV2. I also like the idea of having more points for the same cost (yes, the yearly MF will be higher) so we can do 1BR and 2BR more often. That is our reasoning for going the way we did. SSR is great if you don't mind staying at SSR when you can't get anything else. We personally don't want to stay there... the cheapest per point option to us at a place we want to stay that also doesn't have a 2042 expiration is AKL.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We are just buying in now and are looking at AKL resale. I don't see much of a value to us in going direct. Not one that would justify a $50-60 increase per point at GFV2. I also like the idea of having more points for the same cost (yes, the yearly MF will be higher) so we can do 1BR and 2BR more often. That is our reasoning for going the way we did. SSR is great if you don't mind staying at SSR when you can't get anything else. We personally don't want to stay there... the cheapest per point option to us at a place we want to stay that also doesn't have a 2042 expiration is AKL.

Not sure how you feel about Old Key West, but OKW 2057 contracts can be a good value for families like yours as well. They're kind of unicorns, though.

 

[sndral]

As someone who is just planning to get into DVC... Ive been weighing some options of buying direct at Riviera or buying resale at other resorts. what is the actual benefit of buying direct aside from a few discounts and events? does that make a tangible difference in your vacation experience?

To become a blue card member you currently must buy 150 direct points, thus if your plan is to buy fewer direct points than that you don’t need to worry about AP discounts, merchandise discounts, access to the DVC room in Epcot, special member events, etc..
Because you want to stay at Riviera but are also interested in staying elsewhere direct v. resale will make a tangible difference in your vacation experience through the years. Your resale choices are:
Buy Riviera resale & never use those points to stay anywhere else
Buy another resort resale & use those points to stay at 14 resorts (the O14) but never at Riviera
Your direct choices are:
Buy Riviera which gives you home resort priority booking there & the ability to stay anywhere @ 7 months
Buy another resort which gives you home resort booking priority there & the ability to book everywhere else @ 7 months, including Riviera.
There are other factors folks consider like exit strategy (how much can I sell the contract for if I need to,) how many years left on the contract, what are the annual maintenance fees (Riviera’s are comparatively high,) point charts (how many points do I need to stay in the villa size & view I want when I want to go,) & right now w/ direct for Riviera & every resort except VGF2 depending on the use year you choose you can get 2021 points w/ your direct purchase, resale contracts can be loaded or they can be stripped, and the ease/timing of the purchase experience - for example my first 3 DVC purchases were resale & each took 30+days to 3 months, 3 days ago I bought VGF2 direct & the points are already in my account.

 

[Redheadprincess]

Even when APs were sold for a few months, DVC couldn't be bothered to cough up a $50 discount on the Incredipass. DVC has not gotten a Blue Card AP. I don't see why you think this discount will come back, when it has been gone for years. Or APs in general, after Chapek was very clear about $$$ expectations from guests.

DVC members cab buy the Sourcerer pass which is $300 or $400 less than incredipass. When they do start resales is APs, many DVC members will be buying those Sourcerer passes.

 

[chalee94]

DVC members cab buy the Sourcerer pass which is $300 or $400 less than incredipass. When they do start resales is APs, many DVC members will be buying those Sourcerer passes.

Right. We used to get actual discounts on APs. Now we are apparently "thrilled" to have "access" to a less expensive but also more restricted AP.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Right. We used to get actual discounts on APs. Now we are apparently "thrilled" to have "access" to a less expensive but also more restricted AP.

The Sorcerer’s pass has very limited blackout dates and is basically the new blue card AP. I think it’s pretty good and sooner or later they’ll resume sales.

 

[chalee94]

The Sorcerer’s pass has very limited blackout dates and is basically the new blue card AP. I think it’s pretty good and sooner or later they’ll resume sales.

It's great that you are subjectively happy with the current situation. It's also objectively less of a benefit than it used to be...

 

[wilkydelts]

The Sorcerer’s pass has very limited blackout dates and is basically the new blue card AP. I think it’s pretty good and sooner or later they’ll resume sales.

Since when is Christmas and Thanksgiving time "very limited blackout dates"

 

[Lumpy1106]

Be sure and consider the points charts and the maintenance fees. Both are higher at RIV than the other WDW resorts.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Since when is Christmas and Thanksgiving time "very limited blackout dates"

They are for me. We never go during the holidays.

 

[Sandisw]

It's great that you are subjectively happy with the current situation. It's also objectively less of a benefit than it used to be...

Well, it does have less black out dates than the Gold AP did so it is a bit better in terms of number of days it can be used so it is not objectively worse.

 

[Paul Stupin]

It's great that you are subjectively happy with the current situation. It's also objectively less of a benefit than it used to be...

Good point. I'm relatively new to DVC and its all I know. Am sure it was superior in the past.

 

[BekCG45]

I am also thinking about purchasing DVC as a new member. My husband and I keep going back and forth on this same question. We are now leaning toward purchasing direct. It is not because of the current “perks” or lack thereof, but more because of the restrictions with resale contracts.

Our intention is to hold onto this long term, (I know that can change). From what I have read, historically speaking, resale and direct use to be equivalent in terms of perks or ability to use your contract at any resort. Disney has increasingly restricted resale contracts. So our hesitancy to buy resale is more thinking toward the future - what restrictions will be next? Will I only be able to book at my home resort with a resale contract? Could they change the 11 month or 7 month booking windows for resale? Could they roll out a really good perk for direct contracts that we won’t be eligible for? What future resort will I want to stay at that I won’t be able to use my contract for?

DVC will only increase in price, so I feel like I should buy direct now before that becomes even more expensive. I have only been researching this a few months though, so I may be off base with my line of thinking here and welcome any feedback. This is just some of the thought process we have gone through.

 

[chalee94]

(1)So our hesitancy to buy resale is more thinking toward the future - what restrictions will be next? (2) Will I only be able to book at my home resort with a resale contract? (3) Could they change the 11 month or 7 month booking windows for resale? (4) Could they roll out a really good perk for direct contracts that we won’t be eligible for? (5) What future resort will I want to stay at that I won’t be able to use my contract for?

(1) Historically, when DVC changes the restrictions, previous buyers are grandfathered in and not affected by the new restrictions. (This could change.)
(2) If you purchase at RIV - yes. Other DVC resorts purchased resale cannot be restricted to only using them at that resort without removing them completely from the DVC system. There is no risk of purchasing resale at AKV or VGF and having the rules change so that you can only book at AKV or VGF. Won't happen.
(3) I don't believe so, no. They can move the booking windows around but at least for pre-RIV resorts, they have to move the windows for both resale and direct.
(4) and (5) are unknowns. The future is wide open as Tom Petty used to say. If the money doesn't matter to you and these questions have value to you, then purchasing direct is the way to go. (As a long term member, I can assure you that (4) and (5) would not sway me at all but YMMV.)

 

[BekCG45]

(1) Historically, when DVC changes the restrictions, previous buyers are grandfathered in and not affected by the new restrictions. (This could change.)
(2) If you purchase at RIV - yes. Other DVC resorts purchased resale cannot be restricted to only using them at that resort without removing them completely from the DVC system. There is no risk of purchasing resale at AKV or VGF and having the rules change so that you can only book at AKV or VGF. Won't happen.
(3) I don't believe so, no. They can move the booking windows around but at least for pre-RIV resorts, they have to move the windows for both resale and direct.
(4) and (5) are unknowns. The future is wide open as Tom Petty used to say. If the money doesn't matter to you and these questions have value to you, then purchasing direct is the way to go. (As a long term member, I can assure you that (4) and (5) would not sway me at all but YMMV.)

Thank you for that info. I didn’t know that about #2 which makes a big difference! That is a big worry that I had.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Not sure how you feel about Old Key West, but OKW 2057 contracts can be a good value for families like yours as well. They're kind of unicorns, though.

I saw one for sale for $163 pp. I guess since they are rare.

 

[Karlk]

What makes okw special in dvc world

 

[GetMeOnSpaceMtn]

What makes okw special in dvc world

In 2007, they allowed people to extend the expiration of their contracts to 2057 from 2042. So there are two sets of OKW contracts in the wild, most with a 2042 expiration and some with a 2057 expiration.