Future DVC Member

[GoofyMac]

We have decided to make the plunge. We want to become DVC members. This has been a decision we have made after several visits to Walt Disney World last year and research and communication between my wife and I. The rest of my family and friends however are opposed to our desire to become members.

We plan on paying cash for our membership starting at 100 points within the next year. Hopefully at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. We visited several of the resorts on our last trip and just fell in love with the facility at Saratoga Springs. Our 5 year old daughter loved the layout of the playground pool. Yes we know she will grow out of it in the coming years.

Currently I am working in Afghanistan and will be taking our annual vacation to Walt Disney World in late May for her 6th Birthday staying in a one Bedroom suite at Saratoga Springs as a full paying guest.

The biggest question that I have is weather or not to save money or get additional points for near the same money via the resale market If we decide to go this route wed ultimately like to have 160 points. We understand that there are some restrictions but how to they really impact the typical Walt Disney World vacationer with the occasional trip elsewhere, say Disneyland or Europe.

What are the advantages of buying through Disney itself? Is the cost justifiable?

Thanks All.

 

[bgraham34]

Hello and Congrats on wanting to become DVC members. I got into DVC with the Resale Market a few years back and only purchased 50 points.

The biggest thing with purchasing resale vs direct from Disney besides the cost are the restrictions. If you only plan to use it to stay at a Disney resort then you are golden. If you had planned to use it on the Disney Cruise Line or stay at other timeshares around the world then you are out of luck. I don't plan to do any of those things with my points so it does not bother me.

Also if you buy direct you can have your first stay within days. Resale it can take several months before you even close. It is just like buying a house. Personally if it were me i would do resale. I can buy more points for the same amount as buying from Disney for less points.

 

[disneyeater]

Do the math on what other trips you would take besides going to Disney World or Disneyland and how many points those trips would cost. How often would you do them and would you even have enough points? This bascially will only effect you if you want to cruise or visit the Disney resorts outside of the US (someone fill me in if I am forgetting something)

Personally I think that resale makes sense even with the restrictions, but that is something only you can decide.

 

[tjkraz]

I agree with the last poster that direct vs. resale is something for each buyer to decide. So don't take this as me advocating a direct purchase. HOWEVER, here are some things that would weigh in your favor if you bought direct:

1. Saratoga Springs was just branded "sold out" by DVC. That doesn't really mean that every single point is gone so you could probably get in there if you called in the next week or so. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to buy SSR direct and the more it may cost. DVC has a pretty good track record of raising prices on its "sold out" resorts.

2. I'm not entirely sure what lead you to the cash trip in May but if you are so convinced you want to buy into SSR, why not cancel that reservation and put the money toward your DVC purchase?

3. DVC has a way of pulling some strings to get a short-notice reservation for new buyers. In other words, if you called today and said you were virtually guaranteed of buying if they could get you a SSR room during your May dates, it will happen. They will NOT make such an exception for a resale purchase.

4. When you buy direct, they can often give you a Use Year which results in extra points coming your way. For instance if they sold you a March Use Year, the standard practice is that you would actually receive the 2011 points immediately (normally good from 3/1/11 to 2/29/12). DVC would then allow you to bank those points and you'd receive a second set on 3/1/12. Net result is that a week from now you have 200 points available for your 2012 travels.

It's also possible to purchase "loaded" resale contracts with banked points...the process just happens to be a bit smoother with DVC since they can sell you any Use Year (if available) and any number of points you desire.

5. As for restrictions on resale, right now resale buyers cannot use points for any DISNEY destination which is not a part of the DVC program. That means no Disney Cruises, no Adventures by Disney, no Disneyland Paris, no Tokyo Disneyland, no Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier (Cali) and no Grand Floridian, Yacht Club, Poly or Moderates in Florida. There are others, too. All of those destinations are completely unbookable with resale points.

To many members those destinations hold little value. But if you frequently work overseas / are in the service, they may be something which are more appealing to you personally.

Resale will definitely save you money. But there are no guarantees you would get it done before that May trip and the list of Disney destinations I mentioned would be permanently off limits.

If it were me, I'd give serious consideration to buying now and trying to get that May trip moved to points. Even if you don't have the cash available, consider financing for a few months and paying it off as soon as you have the money. In my opinion, that makes a lot more sense than spending hundreds (thousands?) of dollars for a One Bedroom cash stay when you could start using the points immediately.

Good luck!!

 

[disneyeater]

I agree with the last poster that direct vs. resale is something for each buyer to decide. So don't take this as me advocating a direct purchase. HOWEVER, here are some things that would weigh in your favor if you bought direct:

1. Saratoga Springs was just branded "sold out" by DVC. That doesn't really mean that every single point is gone so you could probably get in there if you called in the next week or so. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to buy SSR direct and the more it may cost. DVC has a pretty good track record of raising prices on its "sold out" resorts.

2. I'm not entirely sure what lead you to the cash trip in May but if you are so convinced you want to buy into SSR, why not cancel that reservation and put the money toward your DVC purchase?

3. DVC has a way of pulling some strings to get a short-notice reservation for new buyers. In other words, if you called today and said you were virtually guaranteed of buying if they could get you a SSR room during your May dates, it will happen. They will NOT make such an exception for a resale purchase.

4. When you buy direct, they can often give you a Use Year which results in extra points coming your way. For instance if they sold you a March Use Year, the standard practice is that you would actually receive the 2011 points immediately (normally good from 3/1/11 to 2/29/12). DVC would then allow you to bank those points and you'd receive a second set on 3/1/12. Net result is that a week from now you have 200 points available for your 2012 travels.

It's also possible to purchase "loaded" resale contracts with banked points...the process just happens to be a bit smoother with DVC since they can sell you any Use Year (if available) and any number of points you desire.

5. As for restrictions on resale, right now resale buyers cannot use points for any DISNEY destination which is not a part of the DVC program. That means no Disney Cruises, no Adventures by Disney, no Disneyland Paris, no Tokyo Disneyland, no Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier (Cali) and no Grand Floridian, Yacht Club, Poly or Moderates in Florida. There are others, too. All of those destinations are completely unbookable with resale points.

To many members those destinations hold little value. But if you frequently work overseas / are in the service, they may be something which are more appealing to you personally.

Resale will definitely save you money. But there are no guarantees you would get it done before that May trip and the list of Disney destinations I mentioned would be permanently off limits.

If it were me, I'd give serious consideration to buying now and trying to get that May trip moved to points. Even if you don't have the cash available, consider financing for a few months and paying it off as soon as you have the money. In my opinion, that makes a lot more sense than spending hundreds (thousands?) of dollars for a One Bedroom cash stay when you could start using the points immediately.

Good luck!!

First, I agree about spending the money for this May trip, especially if renting through Disney. If you don't/can't decide to buy before this trip, at least look into renting points for your trip vs. getting the reservations direct through Disney.

Second, just wanted to offer some counter points to the very good points made above.

1. You may be able to get SSR direct, but you will pay half of what they are selling for if you choose resale and there are a ton of SSR contracts out there.

2 and 3 may not be possible through resale but see my note above about renting points to save some money on your trip.

4. As the PP stated, you can buy a loaded contract which is what Disney is giving you.

 

[slappy magoo]

At this point the major restriction for buying resale is that the points are only valid for staying in WDW resorts, you wouldn't be able to trade them in for RCI points or cruises or the other options people have if they buy direct from DVC. Don't know how much that means to you.

One thing you can consider doing, if you buy resale, is planning in advance on banking and borrowing points and using your membership every 2 to 3 years. For instance, if you only ever buy 100 points from resale, you can take a trip borrowing 50 points one year, then the next year use the remaining points and borrow the remaining 100, and on the third year, pay for a vacation out of pocket, using that occasion to go somewhere else. Lather, rinse, repeat. This way, you'll save a good chunk of money (Saratoga resale value is much lower than most of the other resorts, I think you'll probably save at least $3500). But if you plan to vacation this way, just make sure the amount of points you get will work out that way. For example, based on current point charts, and adding a few extra points "just in case," getting 160 points will probably afford you a 1BR in late May for a week every 2 out of 3 years (currently a week is worth 227 points, which works out to needing 151.33333333333etc a year. I thought to be safe, round up).

 

[Pioneer Hall]

At this point the major restriction for buying resale is that the points are only valid for staying in WDW resorts, you wouldn't be able to trade them in for RCI points or cruises or the other options people have if they buy direct from DVC. Don't know how much that means to you.

One thing you can consider doing, if you buy resale, is planning in advance on banking and borrowing points and using your membership every 2 to 3 years. For instance, if you only ever buy 100 points from resale, you can take a trip borrowing 50 points one year, then the next year use the remaining points and borrow the remaining 100, and on the third year, pay for a vacation out of pocket, using that occasion to go somewhere else. Lather, rinse, repeat. This way, you'll save a good chunk of money (Saratoga resale value is much lower than most of the other resorts, I think you'll probably save at least $3500). But if you plan to vacation this way, just make sure the amount of points you get will work out that way. For example, based on current point charts, and adding a few extra points "just in case," getting 160 points will probably afford you a 1BR in late May for a week every 2 out of 3 years (currently a week is worth 227 points, which works out to needing 151.33333333333etc a year. I thought to be safe, round up).

One small clarification. Resale points are still valid for RCI exchanges. They are just not valid for the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection or the Adventurer Collection.

 

[tjkraz]

First, I agree about spending the money for this May trip, especially if renting through Disney. If you don't/can't decide to buy before this trip, at least look into renting points for your trip vs. getting the reservations direct through Disney.

Second, just wanted to offer some counter points to the very good points made above.

1. You may be able to get SSR direct, but you will pay half of what they are selling for if you choose resale and there are a ton of SSR contracts out there.

2 and 3 may not be possible through resale but see my note above about renting points to save some money on your trip.

4. As the PP stated, you can buy a loaded contract which is what Disney is giving you.

Renting is going to narrow the price gap considerably, though.

The median SSR resale price is around $65 per point. Loaded contracts tend to go for a higher price than stripped contracts. Some sellers ask for dues reimbursement at closing. Add in $12-14 to rent points for May and a couple dollars more for higher closing costs (DVC's overall fees are less.)

Figure $80 per point for resale + one-time rental.

That's still about $20 less than direct. The "X" factor is what value OP places on the ability to use points for the destinations which are off limits to resale buyers. Most vocal owners seem quick to dismiss those destinations as not being a good value, want to stay at the theme parks all the time, etc. For many, I think that's a short-sighted approach which could backfire in the long run. IMO, it's hard to sustain the same level of enthusiasm for a smallish number of destinations year-after-year for 4-5 decades.

Buying direct is also an infinitely easier process than resale. No monitoring sites for the "right" contract...no haggling over terms...no delays due to slow sellers, etc. That personal savings in time and energy should carry some value; my time is important to me.

Are those benefits worth paying an extra $20 per point? To some buyers, yes; to others, no.