Which resort to buy direct for sleep around points

So wouldn't it then make more sense to buy HH or VB for that use? Both are significantly cheaper and "spend" the same at the 7-month window.

Those don’t allow any 11 month bookings at WDW though. And the MFs are so much more that it eats the savings quickly.

At least buying an on-site WDW resort, you know you will have something to stay, just in case.
 
So it's not just about the cheapest points.
For some people “cheapest” = lowest price upfront, but that’s shortsighted in my view. Maintenance fees plus actual trip costs are MULTIPLES of the upfront cost to buy in. That’s why some people just say “bag it” and buy direct even if resale is cheaper, because they don’t want the hassle and at some point the cost difference is a drop in the bucket.
 


Not in the same sense as the way as other reasons, and for anyone not interested in RIV or future resorts, but down the road, they may end up being an good choice, especially now that the usual resorts are up in price.
But selling is so easy (and resale prices also tend to go up). If you don't need or want RIV but do end up wanting some new restricted resort "down the road," it's extremely easy to sell the resale points you bought now, likely at a profit, and flip those points into a new Direct contract. Buying direct today on the speculation that some wonderful resort you might want will open ten years from now seems very wasteful.

That seems to run counter to the most often repeated piece of advice here on the DIS: Buy where you want to stay.
Who wants to stay at the same place every trip? Variety is the whole appeal of DVC for me.

So wouldn't it then make more sense to buy HH or VB for that use? Both are significantly cheaper and "spend" the same at the 7-month window.
Aulani maybe. HH and VB dues are so high that their value evaporates pretty quickly. Plus, depending on when in the year you travel, not having access to WDW before 7 months can be risky.
 
So wouldn't it then make more sense to buy HH or VB for that use? Both are significantly cheaper and "spend" the same at the 7-month window.

But they are only 2042 contracts, so will lose all their value in 20 years. And more critically -- dues are very high at those resorts, wiping out the savings.
With dues about $3 higher per point than SSR, on a 200 point contract:
Over the next 20 years, you'll pay $6,000 more in dues than SSR, and your contract will be worthless at the end of the 20 years. While SSR will still have value if you choose to re-sell or keep using it.

I've seen the full math broken down..... Poly and SSR were the cheapest sleep around points. Yes Poly, thanks to long contract and low dues, with re-sale prices lower than GFV. The analysis I saw was a couple years old, in today's market, BLT might be up there. And for direct, GFV would win out with incentives.
Personally, I don't think too much should be read into a $0.50 difference in dues, that can easily get erased of a couple of years. But with HH and VB, it's a very significantly increase in dues price.
 


Who wants to stay at the same place every trip? Variety is the whole appeal of DVC for me.

For you and many others, but then there are plenty of people who always (or almost always) stick to their home resort. And with availability limits lately, it can be difficult to do a whole lot of variety. If you travel annually for Thanksgiving, you're not going to have many choices outside your home resort.
And in the current environment, it can be very very hard to get much at the 7 month mark.

I am staying at Aulani this summer, but I had to trade points with an Aulani owner to make it happen. The room I wanted would have been booked up at 7 months.
 
But they are only 2042 contracts, so will lose all their value in 20 years. And more critically -- dues are very high at those resorts, wiping out the savings.
With dues about $3 higher per point than SSR, on a 200 point contract:
Over the next 20 years, you'll pay $6,000 more in dues than SSR, and your contract will be worthless at the end of the 20 years. While SSR will still have value if you choose to re-sell or keep using it.

I've seen the full math broken down..... Poly and SSR were the cheapest sleep around points. Yes Poly, thanks to long contract and low dues, with re-sale prices lower than GFV. The analysis I saw was a couple years old, in today's market, BLT might be up there. And for direct, GFV would win out with incentives.
Personally, I don't think too much should be read into a $0.50 difference in dues, that can easily get erased of a couple of years. But with HH and VB, it's a very significantly increase in dues price.
I don't like the analyses that assume I'm going to enjoy a vacation at the Poly just as much when I'm 80 as I will when I'm 40 or even 60. I agree that the 2042 resorts are too short to get a ton of value, bit I start discounting pretty heavily when we're talking 2060 and beyond.
 
I don't like the analyses that assume I'm going to enjoy a vacation at the Poly just as much when I'm 80 as I will when I'm 40 or even 60. I agree that the 2042 resorts are too short to get a ton of value, bit I start discounting pretty heavily when we're talking 2060 and beyond.
I find that as I get older my tastes become more expensive.
 
But selling is so easy (and resale prices also tend to go up). If you don't need or want RIV but do end up wanting some new restricted resort "down the road," it's extremely easy to sell the resale points you bought now, likely at a profit, and flip those points into a new Direct contract. Buying direct today on the speculation that some wonderful resort you might want will open ten years from now seems very wasteful.


Who wants to stay at the same place every trip? Variety is the whole appeal of DVC for me.


Aulani maybe. HH and VB dues are so high that their value evaporates pretty quickly. Plus, depending on when in the year you travel, not having access to WDW before 7 months can be risky.

As with everything DVC, each of us have different priorities. And, right now there are two properties in the pipeline that could end up being part of those new resorts restricted from resale. So not far off.

While resale have gone up, it may not and not everyone wants to go through the buy and sell process when buying direct now can work as well. So, not wasteful at all if you see a benefit in having direct points.

And I do have two resorts I want to be at every time, now that I have tried most of them. But my kids have favorites too and they will be using long term as well. So, again, we all use it differently.
 
I am staying at Aulani this summer, but I had to trade points with an Aulani owner to make it happen. The room I wanted would have been booked up at 7 months.
Yes if you're very picky about room type and dates that's true. If you were saying "I'd like a week at Aulani this summer but I'm not worried about dates and I'm flexible on room and view," you'd be fine at 7 months.
 
Yes if you're very picky about room type and dates that's true. If you were saying "I'd like a week at Aulani this summer but I'm not worried about dates and I'm flexible on room and view," you'd be fine at 7 months.

Which just supports that different people want different things. Some people do have preferences.

You definitely sound like someone who is content with resale, the buy and sell process. and don’t mind the flexibility of multiple resorts, rooms sizes, and dates.

But not everyone wants that from DVC. And that is why there are so many options and ways to own and use!, with none being better or worse than the other.
 
Which just supports that different people want different things. Some people do have preferences.
OP asked about sleep-around points. By definition, we're not talking about points that will be used to suit a particular preference.

You definitely sound like someone who is content with resale, the buy and sell process. and don’t mind the flexibility of multiple resorts, rooms sizes, and dates.
Okay but none of that is the point of THIS thread. Obviously there's value in the home resort booking window, but that's not what OP is asking. OP is asking about sleep around points in particular. Sleep around points are going to be used primarily at or below 7 months, and not at their home resort.
 
But selling is so easy (and resale prices also tend to go up). If you don't need or want RIV but do end up wanting some new restricted resort "down the road," it's extremely easy to sell the resale points you bought now, likely at a profit, and flip those points into a new Direct contract. Buying direct today on the speculation that some wonderful resort you might want will open ten years from now seems very wasteful.


Who wants to stay at the same place every trip? Variety is the whole appeal of DVC for me.
Selling isn't always so easy: especially for us international owners. I own a combo of direct and resale. Direct is mostly to stay at RVA but also to stay at future resorts we may like at WDW.

My other home resorts (VGF and VGC) are for exclusive use there. I love staying at my home resorts and that is why I paid a premium for them.

I guess if you want direct SAP and you own Riviera just add more there....
 
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But not everyone wants that from DVC. And that is why there are so many options and ways to own and use!, with none being better or worse than the other.
I'm not addressing what "everyone" wants or implying that everyone should want what I want. OP said he wants SAP, so I aswered in the context of SAP. Obviously if you want to only ever stay at Riviera, book all of your trips at 11 months, and desperately need access to the Epcot lounge, you should buy Riviera direct. But of that described someone, they wouldn't be here asking about SAP.

Sorry for the double post, I messed up the multi-quote on mobile.
 
OP asked about sleep-around points. By definition, we're not talking about points that will be used to suit a particular preference.


Okay but none of that is the point of THIS thread. Obviously there's value in the home resort booking window, but that's not what OP is asking. OP is asking about sleep around points in particular. Sleep around points are going to be used primarily at or below 7 months, and not at their home resort.

Yes, but that doesn’t mean someone doesn’t have preferences of when they want to stay or rooms sizes, etc. Or even don’t have certain resorts to use them at,

SAP doesn’t have to mean you want to stay any or everywhere, but just that you want to have points that my be less expensive upfront to give you options at 7 months to trade.

And, you asked why someone might buy direct points to use as SAP…and there are plenty of good reasons to do that.

As I said, I bought my SSR points and only use them at RIV and VGF now, They still count as SAPs because the main purpose is not to use them there, even though I don’t use them many other places.
 
My other home resorts (VGF and VGC) are for exclusive use there. I love staying at my home resorts and that is why I paid a premium for them.
Right... But those aren't sleep-around points.

Paying a premium to suit your preferences is a judgment that each person has to make for themselves. Paying a premium when *you don't have a preference,* which is what SAP means in the first place, is not a matter of opinion or judgment. It CAN be "right or wrong."

Buying Grand Cal to primarily use at Old Key West isn't a matter of opinion. It's objectively a waste of money.
 
As I said, I bought my SSR points and still only use them at RIV and VGF now, But they still count as SAPs because the main purpose is not to use them there.
Exactly! That's my point! You bought SSR because they were the best value at the time you bought them. That's not opinion, that's math.

When I say "no preference," I mean "the preference didn't play a part in what you chose to buy," not what you choose to book once you've already bought. You use your SSR points at RIV and VGF. If you had AKV points you'd use them at RIV and VGF. If you had BLT points you'd use them at RIV and VGF. Then why did you buy SSR instead of AKV or BLT? Not because you prefer SSR over AKV and BLT. Because of math.
 
I'm not addressing what "everyone" wants or implying that everyone should want what I want. OP said he wants SAP, so I aswered in the context of SAP. Obviously if you want to only ever stay at Riviera, book all of your trips at 11 months, and desperately need access to the Epcot lounge, you should buy Riviera direct. But of that described someone, they wouldn't be here asking about SAP.

Sorry for the double post, I messed up the multi-quote on mobile.

Exactly and direct points for SAP are a great option because you want to include RIV and future resorts as part of those options, which is what the OP also asked about.
 

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