News Disney Riviera Resort announced

Ravenclaw78

Well-Known Member
I didn't know they keep trying to hawk you stuff after you buy in to DVC. Very interesting.
They get in touch periodically to see whether you are considering buying more points or have any questions about the resorts they're currently selling. Never anything high-pressure. The better ones keep track of when their clients are staying at a DVC resort and send them a "Welcome Home" note or a small welcome gift.
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
They get in touch periodically to see whether you are considering buying more points or have any questions about the resorts they're currently selling. Never anything high-pressure. The better ones keep track of when their clients are staying at a DVC resort and send them a "Welcome Home" note or a small welcome gift.

I'm still not really sure how the whole DVC/buying points things works, very mysterious to me. People that have it seem to like it, the gifts sound cute.
 

nickys

Premium Member
I'm still not really sure how the whole DVC/buying points things works, very mysterious to me. People that have it seem to like it, the gifts sound cute.

So instead of a traditional timeshare set-up where you buy a week or two at a resort, we buy a number of points. You get that many points each year to use to book nights of your choice where you would like to stay.

Each room-type / category at a resort will “cost” so many points per night depending on when you go.

A 1-bed lake view at BLT may cost 35 points a night in July or 50 points a night over New Year. A studio, same category may cost 18 points in July and 26 points over New Year. The bungalows at the Poly cost a gazillion points for any night.

You can book at your ‘home resort’ at 11 months out, or wait until 7 months out and use your points at any other resort.
 

Movielover

Well-Known Member
So instead of a traditional timeshare set-up where you buy a week or two at a resort, we buy a number of points. You get that many points each year to use to book nights of your choice where you would like to stay.

Each room-type / category at a resort will “cost” so many points per night depending on when you go.

A 1-bed lake view at BLT may cost 35 points a night in July or 50 points a night over New Year. A studio, same category may cost 18 points in July and 26 points over New Year. The bungalows at the Poly cost a gazillion points for any night.

You can book at your ‘home resort’ at 11 months out, or wait until 7 months out and use your points at any other resort.

Is it worth it?
 

nickys

Premium Member
Is it worth it?

That is the million dollar question. At today’s prices it’s a harder question. Depends on many factors, financial and other.

I did it “all wrong” and have no regrets.

Actually that’s not quite true, I have one. We should have split our points into two contracts. That way we could pass one onto each of our sons if they wanted it. A contract cannot be split, and I suspect the maintenance fees will be too high for just one of them to manage. So when DH and I can no longer make the transatlantic trip (for whatever reason) we will probably end up selling. Hopefully we have a good few years left before that happens!
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
Is it worth it?
It has been worth it for my family but we wanted to go to WDW at least annually and stay on site. The price per point and maintenance costs have gone up quite a bit, so it's harder to justify direct purchase unless you would get much use out of the annual pass and merch discounts. I was lucky in that my guide told me to split my Polynesian contract up in case we wanted to give half our points away down the road or split among two children. The cost is much less than you'd spend if you tried to book the same rooms cash, but it locks you into being there or renting out the points through the end of the contract. The upside for Disney obviously is they guarantee revenue for hotel operations even in a big downturn
 

Ravenclaw78

Well-Known Member
Is it worth it?
To our family, yes. But it's definitely not worth the cost to everyone. It depends on your financial situation, when/where/how you like to vacation, etc. The biggest value for us was being able to stay in some of our favorite WDW on-property hotels (with the convenience and early FP+ booking that entails), but have a 1-bedroom villa with a full kitchen. We can cook a real breakfast before heading to the parks, and some days we do lunch or dinner in the room, too. On the other hand, it does permanently lock much of our vacation budget into Disney (via annual dues on the DVC points), so we take fewer trips elsewhere than we might otherwise. It's also a lot more expensive to buy points direct than it used to be, and there are restrictions on what perks resale owners get access to.

Bottom line - I tell everyone to research DVC very thoroughly before ever talking to a Guide or resale agent, and to remember that you're not buying "a piece of the magic" or membership in an exclusive club. You're buying a timeshare, plain and simple, so use your money brain instead of your Disney brain to make the decision. 🤓
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
It has been worth it for my family but we wanted to go to WDW at least annually and stay on site. The price per point and maintenance costs have gone up quite a bit, so it's harder to justify direct purchase unless you would get much use out of the annual pass and merch discounts. I was lucky in that my guide told me to split my Polynesian contract up in case we wanted to give half our points away down the road or split among two children. The cost is much less than you'd spend if you tried to book the same rooms cash, but it locks you into being there or renting out the points through the end of the contract. The upside for Disney obviously is they guarantee revenue for hotel operations even in a big downturn

And if you buy resale you dont get the discounts, is that right?
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
And if you buy resale you dont get the discounts, is that right?
Yes, buying resale you don't get certain things. The discounts are the big one, including the ability to buy the Gold AP. Beyond that it's about using points for certain outside hotel groupings or for cruises, but those aren't a great use of money regardless. You also can't go to the Epcot lounge or Moonlight Magic events, but only a fraction of members can fit in those anyway.

Basically the way I look at it if you'd go more than once a year then the AP discounts are huge, and might be worth it to buy direct (100 point minimum these days). But if the resort you want is available via resale it's almost always better to buy it that way. The problem is for some of the resorts the resale cost is massive in itself and you have to calculate given the wait time and the chance of losing the deal that it might be better to just pay the ransom up front.
 

Movielover

Well-Known Member
a giant concrete mass is supposed to remind us of Europe? The inside seems ok

Well um...

416255


Maybe Eastern Europe? Eh Comrade!

;)
 

Creathir

Well-Known Member
Bought direct
Financed through Disney
And after taking the tour and talking through it all on our last full morning of the trip, made a snap decision to buy.

All of which will be decried by many as “wrong” But it worked for us.
Ya know what, anyone who criticizes you about it can pound sand.
Yeah, maybe it wasn’t the wisest financial decision, but heck, are vacations (holidays) EVER a wise financial decision? It’s meant to be enjoyed and to have fun.

My wife and I plan on buying next year, and while we could save money by buying 3rd party, you do lose some benefits, frankly we want the life of the contract to be out as far as possible to maximize our fun. If you’re getting the value out of your contract that you hoped you would get, you’re doing great and made a wise decision.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
Bought direct
Financed through Disney
And after taking the tour and talking through it all on our last full morning of the trip, made a snap decision to buy.

All of which will be decried by many as “wrong” But it worked for us.
Going home and thinking about it is a bit of a different calculation for you though, right? IIRC you'd have to wait to buy until your next trip
 

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