UY and Fixed week question

[ajsanford]

Hi all,

I am hoping for some help.
I am looking at buying Riviera with a Fixed week due to resale value and feeling more comfortable buying into Riv.. I don't actually plan to use the fixed week for the most part, as we travel at different times of the year. We also have littles, so our needs are going to change dramatically over 50 years....

That being said, I am between the weeks of Thanksgiving (week 47) and the first week of summer break, so starting either the last few days of May or early June (week 22). I personally would be interested in week 49 too (first full week of December), but while it is a busy time for DVC, I think resale would probably help if that fixed week is during a school break.
My guide gave me a chart and said if I chose week 22 (May/June), my use year would have to be April, and if I chose week 47 (Thanksgiving), my use year would have to be October.

I definitely think the October use year is a better time for me, as I can see our family traveling during spring break (March) or early summer.
My question for everyone much more experienced than me is as follows:
1) Is one of these weeks much better than the other for resale and demand?
2) Do the guides have to stick to the "recommended" use year, OR could I push for a December UY even if I chose week 22 (May/June) for my fixed week?

Thank you all for your help!!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I think anytime between Thanksgiving and new years or October for food and wine. Any of those times are good fixed weeks choose whichever is least amount of points.

 

[Sandisw]

I would go with busier DVC times and not summer.

The big benefit of the FW is you get the room without having to complete for it.

People are not going to need to compete for rooms at the summer months like the holidays.

 

[Sunnyore]

I think the guide is trying to be helpful in term of the uy choices because it means you will have time to bank the points if you don’t use them. So in your example of say choosing thanksgiving week as your FW and your UY is December, then you will have to bank those points by July 31 if not using them. I agree with others to choose a week that’s busy because the benefit of a FW is to gaurantee you a room when rooms are scarce. Summer time are park busy but not DVC busy. Also just to throw it out there, some ppl here have been complaining how little options they have for resale with Oct Uy so something else to think about if you are ever considering resale add ons.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Not all weeks are created equal and the most in demand so appealing at resale are the early Dec and potentially some November or late Dec. The question is how many points are what you actually need for yourself vs basing it mostly on selling in the future because the amount of points in each of those weeks is probably a bit different.

Regarding UY and fixed weeks they can do any fixed week with any UY but yes, you have to push for it. It is better IMO to have the UY be close to the week but it's not required. And yours might be a guide that doesn't think it can be changed. Most really don't have much experience with the fixed weeks.

 

[princesscinderella]

I got a RIV fixed week and it’s for #52 but I wanted it in my April UY. They really didn’t want to give it to me in that UY but I explained that with April UY having a nov 30th banking window if I have to cancel the FW if I wasn’t going 31 days ahead so the points wouldn’t go into holding which would put me right at my banking window. So there really wasn’t a risk for me having my FW so far out from my UY. If you want a summer FW I’d pick 4th of July instead of end of May/June. Otherwise any of the fall week’s would be better. I’d get a June or later UY so you get the bonus 2020 points.

 

[ajsanford]

Thank you all!! This is super helpful- I might just go with that first week in Dec and the December UY- It falls over my birthday, a busy DVC time, a December use year, and I would get the 2020 points, so it is a win all around in my mind!

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Thank you all!! This is super helpful- I might just go with that first week in Dec and the December UY- It falls over my birthday, a busy DVC time, a December use year, and I would get the 2020 points, so it is a win all around in my mind!

The first week of December is gold in terms of DVC, so I think you are choosing wisely. In general you should be able to pick any use year. However, you are really buying a numbered week in the year. A December use year could be a problem if that week sometimes started in November, and thus spanned two use years. Something to think about.

 

[sethschroeder]

May or June will never be high demand and point requirements might go down making the premium more.

Flip side anytime from Oct to mid December is likely and has already went up in points.

Plus it's a high demand period most likely to be hardest to book that a resale buyer looks for.

Also check in to the fixed week thread say Hi and let us know what you decide.

 

[OPDman]

We have a Riviera week 49 guarantee. I did it as a hedge against resale restrictions, as any potential buyer would get the benefit of the “Christmas” guarantee too. There will always be a buyer for Christmas time at Disney. I purchased a standard studio at 122 points. With recent point reallocations, the guaranteed premium has already been reduced. BTW, those premiums are set at opening and do not adjust over time. So you would see similar savings.

We have a December use year, and week 49 is always in December. With a December use year, if you opt out of your guaranteed week you would have to bank unused points by July 31 each year. That would work well with planned March and early summer trips.

I strongly advise purchasing a guaranteed week. We travel the same times most years and love not having to deal with member services, walkers, or the reservation system. The reservation just appears. We loved it so much, we got another one for a studio at Copper Creek. Avoiding that mess is heaven. We are very pleased.

Best Wishes and good luck!

 

[AaronEuth]

Hi all,

I am hoping for some help.
I am looking at buying Riviera with a Fixed week due to resale value and feeling more comfortable buying into Riv.. I don't actually plan to use the fixed week for the most part, as we travel at different times of the year. We also have littles, so our needs are going to change dramatically over 50 years....

That being said, I am between the weeks of Thanksgiving (week 47) and the first week of summer break, so starting either the last few days of May or early June (week 22). I personally would be interested in week 49 too (first full week of December), but while it is a busy time for DVC, I think resale would probably help if that fixed week is during a school break.
My guide gave me a chart and said if I chose week 22 (May/June), my use year would have to be April, and if I chose week 47 (Thanksgiving), my use year would have to be October.

I definitely think the October use year is a better time for me, as I can see our family traveling during spring break (March) or early summer.
My question for everyone much more experienced than me is as follows:
1) Is one of these weeks much better than the other for resale and demand?
2) Do the guides have to stick to the "recommended" use year, OR could I push for a December UY even if I chose week 22 (May/June) for my fixed week?

Thank you all for your help!!

What sort of room are you looking for? As of two weeks ago when we purchased they were out of standard studio FW 49. They are only allowed to sell so many and it is a popular week. We went with 50.

 

[Sandisw]

What sort of room are you looking for? As of two weeks ago when we purchased they were out of standard studio FW 49. They are only allowed to sell so many and it is a popular week. We went with 50.

Just for others knowledge, it is 35% of any given UY day that can be fixed weeks. That is why a FW, especially for something like SV at RIV or CCV, is a great choice for travel during December!

 

[Anthony Vito]

Thank you all!! This is super helpful- I might just go with that first week in Dec and the December UY- It falls over my birthday, a busy DVC time, a December use year, and I would get the 2020 points, so it is a win all around in my mind!

You said you're looking at Week 49, but @AaronEuth said they were out of Week 49 recently.

Just be aware that Week 48 does not work with a December UY, because it frequently falls into November for a few days. When we bought our Week 48 at Copper Creek, they were doing December UYs, and that's actually what we were getting. It wasn't until I questioned how it would work overlapping years like that, and specifically how it would affect us if we opted out since some points could be considered borrowed into the prior year, etc., that they decided it would be a good idea to re-write the contract and gave us an October UY.

 

[sethschroeder]

You said you're looking at Week 49, but @AaronEuth said they were out of Week 49 recently.

They are sold out of Standard Views but I believe they still have Preferred Views left for Week 49. If this is for CCV then I suspect week 49 is actually sold out as they had 1 or 2 of the Tub Studios left last fall.

 

[kandlsutton]

Several fixed weeks we are not available at RIV but are available at CCV. Personally, I prefer to stay home for the holidays and travel the week or so after. If week 52 isn’t available, is week 1 a good alternative?

 

[RoseGold]

The cool thing about Week 49 is that it's one of the only places I would call a low point on the RIV chart.

If RIV rebalances over time, say to make the 1BRs less crazy high, or to increase the points required for early December, it's got to go up. I don't see how it can go anywhere but up -- assuming they follow the fixed total points rule, but that's a different discussion. I can see Week 49 getting bumped a category or two and costing more in points than you paid. If you never plan to use it, maybe that doesn't matter so much. Maybe then you want Week 47/52 for resale.

And who cares what UY your guide says you have to use. You tell him what you want and he prints out the contract.