The wife and I have been looking into it and it seems like a pretty good deal from what we see but that’s only the surface and what Disney wants us to see. I did see if we decide not to use them then we could sell the points and recoup some funds that way as well. What are your tips and tricks for buying, avoid it all together, juice worth the squeeze?
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Hello all! Potential new buyer
- Thread starter Antwonr15
- Start date
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
At the current prices, I don't think there's any math that justified buying directly from Disney. Buy from a reseller at half the price (making sure you understand all that being a resale owner entails). And definitely don't do it if you need to finance the purchase. Cash only.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Three things to consider:
- Initial cost
- Yearly maintenance dues per point
- Special assessments (rare ssr, vbc and hhi had hurricane damage in 2020)
Direct vs. Resale can be a real can of worms. The direct numbers can work out for certain families that can take advantage of certain benefits. My family of 4 saves a good bit on annual passes, but as the last few years taught people shouldn't buy direct and expect APs. The rest depends on how much value you place on things like lounges.
Agree with Cap to not finance.
If you can't go you can bank and points the following year. Make sure to understand banking deadline and rules, like only being able to bank current year points and not being able to bring the same points back into current year.
Starting with a resale contract is one way to get in and test the waters. If you decide to sell after a few years you won't be bitten as badly as buying direct.
Agree with Cap to not finance.
If you can't go you can bank and points the following year. Make sure to understand banking deadline and rules, like only being able to bank current year points and not being able to bring the same points back into current year.
Starting with a resale contract is one way to get in and test the waters. If you decide to sell after a few years you won't be bitten as badly as buying direct.
Lol but but it’s “Disney”
is there a way to see or plan a trip to see how many points it would take to do before buying?
Point charts are here:Lol but but it’s “Disney”
You can search by resort and then room category and dates.
I'll say that if you're just venturing into point charts that there's a lot to look into before diving in, but I get that your overarching question may be whether it's worth the time learning to make an informed decision, and to that I'd say "yes."
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Download the app "DVC Calculator." Extremely user-friendly.Lol but but it’s “Disney”
This site has a nice point calculator.Lol but but it’s “Disney”
DVC-RENTAL - Point Calculator
Welcome to our DVC point/cost calculator. We charge $20 per point. You can change between point and total dollar amounts.
I agree with everything @CaptainAmerica said. I don’t think buying from Disney is a deal at all, it’s roughly 20%-30% off rack rates for a studio when you factor in cost of capital (note that the current promo is as deep as 35% off rack rates) and basically zero savings if you finance or stay in 1 bedrooms. And DVC has a way, way, WAY worse cancellation policy.
If you’re still trying to figure out points needed for a trip you have a LOT to learn before you sign anything. I’d suggest learning about cancellation policies, booking windows (and the various levels of difficulty of procuring various room types), holding points, use years, resale contracts and the different experience you get from them, and what Disney is allowed to take away at any time (almost everything, including perks like annual passes but also things like banking and borrowing points) vs what is guaranteed (basically just a room, or at older resorts, a room and a pool) before you call the guide back.
Most owners here either purchased resale or purchased a long time ago when the math was much better for a direct purchase. DVC is a great choice for like 5% of people, a meh choice for maybe 15% more, and a terrible choice for 80%. I’d want to be 100% sure what group I was in.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Not to mention the fact that cash guests can often get 25% or more discounts on rack rates anyways, plus they get daily housekeeping and generally better-maintained rooms so it's not apples to apples from a product perspective.This site has a nice point calculator.
DVC-RENTAL - Point Calculator
Welcome to our DVC point/cost calculator. We charge $20 per point. You can change between point and total dollar amounts.www.dvc-rental.com
I agree with everything @CaptainAmerica said. I don’t think buying from Disney is a deal at all, it’s roughly 20%-30% off rack rates for a studio when you factor in cost of capital (note that the current promo is as deep as 35% off rack rates) and basically zero savings if you finance or stay in 1 bedrooms. And DVC has a way, way, WAY worse cancellation policy.
My rookie mistake was buying DAKL thinking I'd be able to consistently get Value rooms if I booked at 11 months. Lol.
Mine was not pushing harder to purchase somewhere other than Polynesian, which on most trips we would have been okay switching into at 7 months.
Mine was not buying that BCV contract in summer 2020 that went for $62/point and didn’t get ROFRed. I found it a few weeks before it sold on a shady timeshare site I was frequenting but got too nervous about the shadiness to pull the trigger. But they were going to let me use any title agency I wanted which should have put me at ease. I wish I had known more!
nickys
Premium Member
One of the main DVC brokers, David’s, has a useful tool which I use all the time for that. Much easier than trying to add it all up from the official points charts!Lol but but it’s “Disney”
It’ll default to the cost of renting but you can change it to display the points instead.
DVC Cost & Points Calculator | David's Vacation Club Rentals
Easily calculate the dollar amount required for your stay at any one of Disney's deluxe resorts.
dvcrequest.com
freediverdude
Well-Known Member
And of course Disney is going to show you are saving versus the outrageous rack rates of the deluxe resorts, but keep in mind, would you actually be taking all those trips at rack rates at the deluxe resorts if you didn't buy DVC? Or is Disney just locking you into taking more Disney trips than you otherwise would have, lol.
It can make sense if you very consistently want to vacation at Disney most every year or more, purchase resale, and are OK with staying at your home resort most of the time or taking whatever else is available after the 7 month mark. But there are a lot of differences between DVC stays and the regular hotel stays, so do a lot of research to see if it's worth it.
It can make sense if you very consistently want to vacation at Disney most every year or more, purchase resale, and are OK with staying at your home resort most of the time or taking whatever else is available after the 7 month mark. But there are a lot of differences between DVC stays and the regular hotel stays, so do a lot of research to see if it's worth it.
nickys
Premium Member
Plus would you be staying at a deluxe esort each time.
But there can also be other reasons for buying DVC.
We loved our first visit onsite. Not having to drive to the parks each day, everyone being free to decide they wanted to sleep in or go back to the resort when they’d had enough without everyone having to do the same thing. It made for a much more relaxing holiday.
In our case we saw DVC as an opportunity to stay onsite but be able to have our own room, rather than having to share a hotel room with our boys. And since that meant 1-beds, it also gave us the full kitchen to use rather than eating out for every meal. And being able to do laundry without having to set aside a couple of hours.
So even though we knew we would only be coming every 3 years, it still made sense for us.
freediverdude
Well-Known Member
I agree, if you need condo style accommodations, like the 1 and 2 bedrooms, there is little choice on property except DVC. So that would be a factor among everything.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
You can book 1 and 2 bedroom villas as a cash guest.
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
1 bedrooms also tend to be reasonably priced from Disney as a cash guest.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Yes. The dollar-of-rack-rate-per-point math skews heavily in favor of using points for Studios, then 2 bedrooms. Speciality accomodations like treehouses and bungalows are next. 1 bedroom pricing favors cash.
I used to do a 365 night analysis for every single resort, every view category, and every unit size. Then Disney stopped publishing the full year of rack rates ahead of time.
You can still pretty easily do that math with the WDW rooms using Mousesaver’s rate list. While Disney changes rack rates more than they used to (which was never), most nights remain bang on. I did that whole work up for 2022 and used it as my guidepost for what I needed to grab SSR for to provide enough value to make it significantly to the positive to stay in 1BRs (and then waited 2 years for the market to fall where I could actually find that price).
freediverdude
Well-Known Member
Yes I meant the DVC units, not that you had to book with DVC. Pretty much the only thing in that category, except maybe Bonnet Creek, but that's technically off property.