Stopped considering DVC this week. Anyone else?

[JakeAZ]

So we are renting points for a grand villa BLT stay this November. We are very excited. We are able to get the whole family in there to celebrate a 70th birthday!

It got me thinking of looking into a DVC purchase.

Not after this week though. And it's not just DME and EMH. Those are just the continuation of cuts, not the end. Fast Pass is unlikely to return in it's previous form. It will most likely come back with some sort of paid option. Don't get me wrong, the previous version needed an overhaul, but it was free (sorry, not "free", but included in the cost of DVC).

I just don't want to lock into a lifetime of Disney trips at these high prices, not knowing what pluses or minuses are coming next.

Renting may cost more in the long run, but it seems like that is a much better option for us, with the future of the on-site benefits unknown.

 

[RoseGold]

I priced out selling a contract. Considering I just closed a contract, and this is a contract I've never even paid dues on, that's pretty insane.

Good news is, I'd be within a few hundred bucks on the whole transaction, and that's after using 1.5 years of bonus points I didn't pay dues on when I bought.

I decided I'm holding for now, but I don't have a good justification for that.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I priced out selling a contract. Considering I just closed a contract, and this is a contract I've never even paid dues on, that's pretty insane.

Good news is, I'd be within a few hundred bucks on the whole transaction, and that's after using 1.5 years of bonus points I didn't pay dues on when I bought.

I decided I'm holding for now, but I don't have a good justification for that.

...and that is why it is important to get the contract you want AND get it for a below market price! You know you will come out fine if you decide to sell and you got the value of 1.5 years of points. I agree, it's best to take a breather before making the decision to sell. Disney has made a big miscalculation and crossed the line IMO.

I'll see how I feel after our 14 night stay during F & W, but may sell BRV as it is the outlier with a different UY. We'll keep OKW no matter what.

 

[princesslover]

So we are renting points for a grand villa BLT stay this November. We are very excited. We are able to get the whole family in there to celebrate a 70th birthday!

It got me thinking of looking into a DVC purchase.

Not after this week though. And it's not just DME and EMH. Those are just the continuation of cuts, not the end. Fast Pass is unlikely to return in it's previous form. It will most likely come back with some sort of paid option. Don't get me wrong, the previous version needed an overhaul, but it was free (sorry, not "free", but included in the cost of DVC).

I just don't want to lock into a lifetime of Disney trips at these high prices, not knowing what pluses or minuses are coming next.

Renting may cost more in the long run, but it seems like that is a much better option for us, with the future of the on-site benefits unknown.

I was going to add on 150 points direct at CCV this week with the incentives. (Currently have 150 direct). Absolutely no way now. If I do add on the 150 it will be resale and even then we are waiting. We are not going until 2022 so no rush for points and it will give us time to see if we still want to spend vacation dollars here or sell.

 

[vacay77]

My home resort is VGC and we mostly travel to DL. They just announced they are cancelling annual passes and I’m an AP holder . So I don’t know what’s on the horizon now. The fast passes don’t bother me so much, but only because we were used to the MaxPass which is much better than the FastPass+. But if they do away with that, it will suck. And if they keep it, the price will only go up. I agree, hold off for now.

 

[awestbrook23]

We are ready to pull the trigger on 300 points (150 direct riviera, 150 resale elsewhere), but NOT until WDW annual passes are back or at least announced/confirmed for a future date. Magical express is one thing - and we can make due with transportation. But the announcement today of the ending of the Disneyland annual pass program has immediately put our decision on ice. I just want to know annual passes ARE going to be there at some point - not quietly put out to pasture or "reimagined". I'm not paying for multi-day tickets multiple times per year. And if we can't visit the parks multiple times per year, I don't need more DVC points.

 

[asunutgirl]

We have two home resorts - a larger contract at Aulani and a smaller contract at VGC. We have lost a lot of points this year due to either not being able to use them (VGC) or not being willing to risk flying to Hawaii. (We know people who flew to Hawaii and got sick because of that trip.) Now with the canceling of the AP's at DL it's making me think it is time to sell our DVC contracts. Kids are adults now and not knowing when we'd be able to travel again, I'm thinking it's time to get out. I certainly won't be buying anymore additional points for now that's for sure.

 

[sethschroeder]

We are ready to pull the trigger on 300 points (150 direct riviera, 150 resale elsewhere), but NOT until WDW annual passes are back or at least announced/confirmed for a future date. Magical express is one thing - and we can make due with transportation. But the announcement today of the ending of the Disneyland annual pass program has immediately put our decision on ice. I just want to know annual passes ARE going to be there at some point - not quietly put out to pasture or "reimagined". I'm not paying for multi-day tickets multiple times per year. And if we can't visit the parks multiple times per year, I don't need more DVC points.

I mean Disneyland is absolutely going to be closed for a year straight. Do we think maybe 18-20 months possibly even?

Just refunding all annual pass at this point is the correct thing to do. I suspect Disneyland could even be at even further restricted capacity than WDW ever was as well. You might be looking at 36 months before California releases its cap on capacity.

Not saying you are wrong to wait just saying why I think its a little different there. In WDW they have extra space to fill so they want AP to get people in the door spending.

 

[sethschroeder]

If I didn't own I probably would hold off. The discounts on direct are not that great and resale likely isn't going to dramatically change either.

 

[I Run Long]

I'm extremely disappointed they cancelled ME but it actually made me more glad that we bought resale this year. We had always rented points and as our dollar dropped (Cdn here) it was getting more and more difficult to save to go every other year. If I had to rent AND also budget for transport that would have just made it harder to save and go. I know it's no where near the same amount as renting points for 2 weeks in a 1 bedroom, but still. When this was announced I was sooo disappointed but then I thought, "thank goodness I've got my accommodations covered at least" - that was always the biggest expense of the trip for us. So I guess glass half full?

 

[awestbrook23]

I mean Disneyland is absolutely going to be closed for a year straight. Do we think maybe 18-20 months possibly even?

Just refunding all annual pass at this point is the correct thing to do. I suspect Disneyland could even be at even further restricted capacity than WDW ever was as well. You might be looking at 36 months before California releases its cap on capacity.

Not saying you are wrong to wait just saying why I think its a little different there. In WDW they have extra space to fill so they want AP to get people in the door spending.

I agree with you and actually think it is the right decision for Disneyland given the circumstances. 100%. Not comparing apples to oranges. But it just makes me uneasy when considering a purchase a big as DVC. Disney has been on a roll with the cutting recently despite being 6+months into their phased reopening. I recognize that annual passes will not be back until capacity restrictions are lifted to support them - and that's fine too, but some guidance would be nice. Just something. Even if it's "while we have no date in which annual passes are scheduled to resume new sales, we recognize many guests are anticipating their return and would like to reassure you that sales will resume as soon as capacity allows and we feel it is safe to do so." Communication can do wonders for morale...and DVC sales.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

***

 

[Wiltony]

Yep, I wouldn't be buying in at this point unless you're seeing huge markdowns in price. WAY too much uncertainty about what ownership will look like in another year.

 

[princesslover]

Yep, I wouldn't be buying in at this point unless you're seeing huge markdowns in price. WAY too much uncertainty about what ownership will look like in another year.

I assume you mean resale. There is no markdown in direct that would make it worth it because you’d never recoup your money if you decide to get out.

 

[thegash35]

We haven't been considering buying, but we are legitimately considering selling for the first time of our ownership. It's not really because of these most recent changes (we never used DME, for example), but simply because of the continuing trend of Disney putting profits and shareholder value over innovation and customer experience. The mindset of this company has now been completely transformed into being controlled by bean counters (ask Boeing how that worked out...and Intel soon to be in a similar boat due to lack of innovation on the engineering side).

I'm also perturbed by the fact that I requested by AP partial refund in June, have followed up several times, and have had no refunds processed to date. I recently wrote member services and asked if I needed to contact my state's attorney general in order to get this refund issue sorted out because I'm just tired of runaround and not being able to get any information whatsoever. Finally they said they escalated it to their financial resolutions team, but that could be a load of B.S.

We have a two week trip scheduled for August. I don't know if we're going to travel or not because a lot of it depends on the COVID situation. I guess my thinking is to give it a shot and see how things are and make the decision from there.

We paid only $65pp in 2012 so could make a pretty nice profit selling now. Another alternative is to just keep DVC and do two week resort vacations every other year and travel other places in the intervening years (which is something we want to do anyway). Given our kids hitting late middle school age, I imagine our park time is going to wind up decreasing anyway.

But it has become abundantly clear that Disney's management approach has shifted so far in one direction and they are no longer interested in creating truly magical experiences for guests.

 

[RanDIZ]

I would definitely take a wait and see approach before jumping into DVC. It's unfortunate what is happening. I just closed on another contract which I got at a decent price 100pt @ CCV $140. I also own AKV. I will be fine moving forward and doing more resort only/1-2 park day trips. There's plenty to do outside of the parks and I will not be spending the money I used to. These recent cost-cutting measures will not effect me directly. I drive down so never use DME. I don't buy the AP. Never use EMH. DDP (only used once), Direct price increase (I buy resale). I feel for everyone that does use them and I'm equally pissed off that Disney has gone down this road. These are the dark days of Disney.

 

[bakerworld]

We joined DVC only to save on the room cost and also to enjoy resort vacations in Florida. I will miss ME but we're both retiring after this year and then DH wants to drive so I guess it will work out. The only perk we used was the AP and the AP gave us the TIW. Now TIW is going away.

 

[Orion Nebula]

We were looking through all of the listings almost daily and started to decide if we wanted to or not. But now due to everything going on we stopped and figured down the road we could look and see if any of the perks come back. I have seen a lot of people upset over owning DVC now, especially the ones who just bought, so you for sure are not alone. One poster here even threw down a bunch of money a week or two ago on extra points and decided it was best not to tell her husband right now... lol

 

[Lumpy1106]

I don't blame anyone for not waiting to jump in, but MAN, DVC prices make no sense! WDW has been either closed or very low capacity for almost a year now so you would think the resale prices would crater - but no. Those have held steady and even gone up. Direct prices also just went up on "sold out" properties. As for me, I would not have jumped in in the last year or even now, but I am glad I am an owner and no way am I selling. Still eagerly looking forward to our annual trip NMW Disney does.

 

[MomOTwins]

I don't blame anyone for not waiting to jump in, but MAN, DVC prices make no sense! WDW has been either closed or very low capacity for almost a year now so you would think the resale prices would crater - but no. Those have held steady and even gone up. Direct prices also just went up on "sold out" properties. As for me, I would not have jumped in in the last year or even now, but I am glad I am an owner and no way am I selling. Still eagerly looking forward to our annual trip NMW Disney does.

We are not owners but ALMOST bought about a month ago.

For our family, we still want to go to Disney pretty regularly for the next 15-20 or so years (while my kids are still living with us or college age). We know there will be more cutbacks and nickel and diming (paid fastpass feels just around the corner), but I also look forward to improvements that are coming down the pipeline as well (new attractions; the new cruise ships we'll want to try with a pre-cruise resort stay etc.)

What troubles me is resale. Our preferred resort is the Poly, and with an end year in 2060 I don't want to be stuck paying annual dues well into my retirement when our kids have flown the nest and DH and I want to explore the world outside of the "World". If Disney keeps finding ways to undercut the value of resale, I could be saddled in my 80s with a contract I don't want and can't sell.

On the other hand, if we buy one of the 2042 resorts, we're basically guaranteeing that we are just prepaying vacations with no opportunity to regain some of our initial investment by selling the contract in 10/20 years. That might be safer if the resale market is kaput at the time, but if not, we'd regret not going with the Poly, especially since current resale prices at tour preferred 2042 resorts (e.g. BCV) not being all that different than PVB.