Buying DVC Directly vs. Resale: Math & Benefits
If you’re debating Disney Vacation Club, you might’ve heard that it’s cheaper to purchase via the resale market than directly via DVC. You might be wondering whether there’s a catch to saving so much money, as there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This unbiased comparison does the math and helps you determine which route is better. (Updated May 31, 2025.)
The “unbiased” part of this is important. As always, we’ll be honest with you: we bought DVC via the resale market, but Disney Vacation Club absolutely is not for everyone. That’s the first point that it’s critical to understand. Disney Vacation Club has emotional marketing that tugs at the heartstrings and makes the decision seem like a no-brainer. It really isn’t.
The second is that there’s no one-size fits all answer to this question of DVC resale vs. direct. Both Disney and the big resellers put tremendous energy and marketing budgets into, ahem, persuading people that they are the best route. In fact, there’s a good chance this is the only comparison you’ll find on a website that is not sponsored by a reseller (or directly on a resale website). At the risk of pointing out the obvious, a reseller sponsoring a post about DVC resales vs. direct is about as unbiased as Philip Morris sponsoring a study about the health benefits of tobacco!
With that out of the way, let’s dig into the considerations. First and foremost, this is NOT simply a math problem. Disney Vacation Club resellers oversimplify this decision by comparing their per point costs to those directly from DVC. And in that case, they win by a wide margin. That’s fairly indisputable.
It’s also a bit reductionist. For starters, you might have heard about resale restrictions. Anyone who purchases DVC resale contracts for the original 14 resorts at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and 3 stand-alone locations will only be able to use their points at those 14 existing resorts.
In other words, resale buyers who purchase today will not be able to use their points at at Cabins at Fort Wilderness, Disney’s Riviera Resort, Villas at Disneyland Hotel, Disney Lakeshore Lodge, and whatever else is built after that. Moreover, buyers who purchase points for those resorts via the resale market will not be able to use their points anywhere else.
This is very restrictive, and should alone make buying Riviera or the Villas at Disneyland Hotel from the resale market a non-starter unless you are 100% sure that’s the only place you ever want to stay. Even if you’re comfortable with that, you should also consider the possibility that you might someday want–or need–to sell your DVC contract. That resale restriction could significantly impact its value down the road.
This is just the latest restriction in a series made to discourage resale purchases and encourage prospective buyers to purchase directly from Disney Vacation Club. The other big one is more significant from a usage perspective, and muddies the waters on the math of DVC resale vs. direct.
Several years ago, Disney Vacation Club implemented another rule change that new DVC Members who do not purchase their ownership interest directly will not have access to “Membership Extras,” such as exclusive Member experiences and discounts.
At that time, Disney’s explanation for the move was that it’d be a “very positive step to ensure that, going forward, our Members who purchase directly from Disney Vacation Club receive a premium advantage — in addition to all the magic that Disney has to offer.” From Disney’s perspective, this move makes sense.
However, let’s call it what it is: a protectionist attempt to reverse the trend of declining direct sales. It was motivated by the desire to offer a “premium advantage” to those who purchase directly from Disney to the same extent that a bear’s love for salmon is motivated by the US crude oil market. Which is to say, in no way whatsoever.
This resale restriction hurts current owners by virtue of decreasing the value of their contracts–the only benefit here is to Disney. It’s another way to push potential customers who are aware of the resale market towards a direct purchase.
In this era of information, it’s much easier to quickly gain perspective with a quick Google search (just look at the comments from readers on our Disney Vacation Club Buying Guide who found it after hearing the sales pitch).
This is something with which timeshare salespeople did not have to contend in the 1990s. Not only was there no highly visible resale market allowing for easy price comparisons, but there was no in-depth financial analysis of timeshares online.
It was much easier for potential customers to get caught up in the sales pitch without the counter-balance of the actual monetary implications of the purchase, and blindly buy. (Fortunately, in the 1990s, DVC was an unequivocally good deal!) Free access to this information has undoubtedly made selling timeshares more difficult, even for Disney Vacation Club which offers a premium that avoids many of the pitfalls of traditional timeshares.
As an existing DVC Member, I can’t really complain. Disney’s practices including right of first refusal (ROFR) and price increases safeguard the value of our contract, preventing it from becoming a money pit like other timeshares. Not only that, but new resale members not having access to certain Membership Extras makes them less crowded and competitive.
Moreover, the market value of our contract at Saratoga has actually increased in the years since we made the purchase, despite the restrictions. That’s remarkable given that it’s duration-limited with the end date now ~20 years closer.
The question is whether Disney’s restrictions on Membership Extras or resort usage should make those considering Disney Vacation Club look at a direct purchase instead of one via resale. For the purposes of brevity, we will assume you’re going to make a purchase one way or the other, and will thus overlook the threshold question of whether it’s a smart purchase to begin with. (Again, maybe not!)
Unlike the last restriction that prevents resale buyers from using their points on certain non-DVC products (which was totally meaningless because Members should rent out their points and pay for those experiences out of pocket since they are such poor uses of DVC points), this restriction does have an impact.
Not being able to use your DVC points at Riviera, FW Cabins, or the Villas at Disneyland Hotel is a bigger deal. Even then, it’s arguably not that big of a deal. The 14 “legacy” Disney Vacation Club resorts are in literally all of the prime locations at Walt Disney World. Disney Vacation Club has been added to every single monorail resort, and has nearly full coverage at the resorts near Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.
At this point, Disney Vacation Club has exhausted all of the ideal add-on locations and is building resorts on parcels of land that are far from ideal. In other words, any new resort at this point will be located on “the leftovers” and have to use some other hook to lure members away from the legacy resorts. Arguably, the Riviera has that with the Skyliner.
However, it’s not right now that’s the concerning part of this. We’d probably be fine never staying at Riviera, Lakeshore Lodge, etc., given the comparable or superior alternatives. But that won’t be the case forever.
It’s in part whatever else is built in the future and what happens with the resorts that expire in 2042. There are several resorts with contracts expiring then, including a few–BoardWalk, Beach Club, and Boulder Ridge–that probably won’t be extended. Once that happens, that means no Crescent Lake or Wilderness resorts, increasing the value of Riviera and Lakeshore Lodge (and whatever else is added).
Between those resorts potentially disappearing from the eligible pool and more being added to the ineligible pool, it’s entirely possible that the scales are tipped in the other direction by 2050. This is something to consider if you’re looking 25 years down the road and how valuable or useful your membership will be then!
Value of Membership Extras If Buying DVC Direct
Let’s turn to Membership Extras, starting with the main one: discounted Annual Passes at Walt Disney World. Here are the Walt Disney World Annual Pass options for 2025:
- Disney Pixie Dust Pass – This is the lowest tier pass for Florida residents costs $469 plus tax.
- Disney Pirate Pass – This is the next tier up for Florida residents only, costing $829 plus tax.
- Disney Sorcerer Pass – Available only to Florida residents or eligible Disney Vacation Club members, costing $1,079 plus tax.
- Disney Incredi-Pass – The top tier with no blockout dates, and is the only tier of AP available for anyone to purchase, including non-Floridians and non-DVC members. It costs $1,549 plus tax.
Disney Vacation Club members being able to purchase the Sorcerer Pass is absolutely huge, which you can only do if you buy direct from DVC. It essentially amounts to a $470 savings per person if you don’t need or want the AP with no blockout dates. For most members, that should be an easy call–the Sorcerer Pass offers much better value for money.
Of course, this assumes you want or need an Annual Pass in the first place, which is a bold assumption and not true for most Disney Vacation Club Members. But if it is the case for you, that $470 per person savings is going to be significant. (It’s worth noting that the Sorcerer Pass is blocked out around the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve; otherwise, there are no material differences between the two tiers.)
While this AP discount is far and away the largest Membership Extra that has an ascribable value, there are plenty of other perks. This means no DVC dining discounts, no shopping discounts, no access to Star View Station, Top of the World, McKim’s Mile House, and Journey into Imagination Lounges, and no admission to Member events, like the Moonlight Magic Parties. (Here’s a list of all perks for Walt Disney World.)
It’s unwise to factor dining and shopping discounts into any math for two reasons. First, many DVC Members have access to these same or better discounts via other means (Annual Passes, Disney Visa, etc.) Second, you need to keep in mind that all of these are incidental perks that are subject to change. (Speaking of which, Annual Pass sales were suspended for a few years, so no one was receiving that benefit!)
Disney itself states as much: “You should not purchase…real estate interest in a Disney Vacation Club Resort in reliance upon the continued availability…[of] Membership Extras…These incidental benefits are subject to change or termination without notice…” (This is Disney’s way of trying to rebut any reliance upon the perks as inducement for entering into the contract; if DVC guides make explicit representations as to the perks, such that the perks are selling points, they aren’t quite so easily “disclaimed away.”)
Honestly, this is a “do as I say, not as I do” kinda thing because we get a lot of value out of the incidental benefits.
We use the lounges in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disneyland every single day we’re in one of those parks. It’s nice to have a reprieve from the crowds and “free” (air quotes) refreshments, a place to charge our devices, etc. We also attend at least one or two Moonlight Magic parties per year, and some of our best Disney memories are from those exclusive events.
I would never claim the dollar value of those things is remotely on par with the premium pricing for DVC directly–the rational side of me knows better. But the emotional side can’t help but think that I’d miss those perks if we didn’t have them, and there’s certainly an emotional component to buying DVC in the first place, or visiting Walt Disney World regularly, for that matter!
DVC Math: Resale vs. Direct Purchases
The subjective vs. objective debate seems like as good of a place as any to pivot and talk dollars and cents. At the time of publication, here are current per point costs directly from Disney Vacation Club:
- Animal Kingdom Villas: $215 per point
- Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas – $235 per point
- Bay Lake Tower – $275 per point
- Beach Club Villas – $275 per point
- BoardWalk Villas – $240 per point
- Boulder Ridge Villas – $215 per point
- Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – $235 per point
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins – $255 per point
- Hilton Head Island Resort – $165 per point
- Old Key West Resort $215 per point
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows – $235 per point
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa – $215 per point
- Riviera Resort – $235 per point
- Vero Beach Resort – $150 per point
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel – $330 per point
- Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort – $265 per point
- Villas at Disneyland Hotel – $245 per point
On average, resale prices are 40% to 60% off direct prices. There are a few big exceptions to that, such as the Grand Californian (which is also very expensive via resale and only offers around 25% off as a result), as well as the Polynesian and Grand Floridian, both of which are only around 33% off.
At the other end of the spectrum, the resorts located away from theme parks have deeper discounts–but also, higher maintenance fees and lower demand. We would never recommend buying at Hilton Head, Vero Beach or even Aulani unless you’re 100% sure those are exactly what you want. Even then, you might be making a mistake–that’s true whether you go resale or direct. But that’s a different subject for a different day.
Whenever we do this math, our favorite example is Saratoga Springs–because that’s where we own. But these numbers are fairly comparable for most of the resorts. Saratoga Springs currently has an average resale price of $93 (versus the direct price of $215), making it a whopping 57% off via the resale market!
Many first-time buyers opt to purchase between 150-200 points, which allows them to stay at most resorts for a week or two each year in a Studio or 1-Bedroom Villa. Even though it’s at the lower end of the spectrum, we’ll use the 150 or 200 point level because we view that as a good entry place into Disney Vacation Club.
Given that, a Saratoga Springs 150 point contract directly via Disney would cost $32,250. If you did opt for 200 points, it’d be $43,000. By contrast, the resale cost would be $13,950 for 150 points or $18,600 for 200 points. Even if we bumped up the 150 point cost to $100 (since smaller contracts do tend to be priced higher), it’s still only $15,000.
With those numbers, you’re saving over $17,000 on the initial purchase price by buying resale. That is, of course, assuming the higher per point resale cost and that you “only” need 150 points. The higher you go, the more you save–both on a per point basis and total dollar amount. You can fairly easily save over $20,000 on 200 points by buying via resale. And that’s not just at Saratoga Springs–it’s pretty much across the board!
In order to recoup that savings, you would need to purchase 4 Annual Passes at the current discount levels for ~10 years. Again, this assumes you need APs in the first place. If you do and you’re a family of 4, there’s a decent chance you also need more than 200 points! (Another factor is that Walt Disney World has been offering more and better ticket deals to the general public, undercutting the value proposition of APs in the first place for non-locals.)
This still is not an apples to apples comparison. In the case of buying resale, you’re saving that money on the initial purchase price, rather than over the course of time. If you are financing your purchase (something we do not recommend with Disney Vacation Club), you should always take the upfront savings, and buy via resale. The interest on the difference in the purchase prices will negate any long-term savings. So stop reading–there’s your definitive answer.
If you’re paying cash, the decision is a bit more difficult. One thing we’ve repeatedly stressed on this blog–and by far the most overlooked element of calculating the true value of Disney Vacation Club–is the time value of money, or the principle that money at the present time is worth more than the same amount in the future.
The earning capacity of today’s money makes it worth more than the same amount in the future. Think about it this way: if you had $17,000 in your hand today, you could place that money into a low-risk investment and have significantly more in 10 years, which is the timeline of your AP savings.
Since you’re paying for all of your future Disney Vacation Club vacations upfront as opposed to when the expenses are actually incurred (minus maintenance fees, which don’t come into play for this comparison), large portions of the initial investment in Disney Vacation Club could be invested in other ways if you were instead paying for your room each year as you vacationed.
Suffice to say, in the first year you’d earn $850 on that $17,000 assuming a 5% return. That’s simple math without compound interest–in actuality, the return increases with each subsequent year the money is invested.
This is one reason why the purported savings claimed with Disney Vacation Club are dubious. With that said, it’s an admittedly big assumption that people will invest money instead of purchasing Disney Vacation Club. It’s fair to say that for most people, it’s either buying DVC or spending the money they could use towards the initial purchase price some other way.
So, where does that leave a decision to purchase DVC directly or via resale? If we were in the market for Disney Vacation Club today, this would be a tough decision. I really hate the idea of forfeiting the AP discount, as many people will derive a lot of value from it.
I’m also concerned that going forward DVC will actually increase Membership Perks to help bolster sales and draw a greater distinction between direct and resale purchases. We do love those incidental benefits. Those intangibles add to the emotional value of DVC, which is a relevant consideration with all things Disney.
On the more objective side of the ledge, there are the resale restrictions for reservations. Currently, this only blocks prospective purchasers via resale out of a handful of properties, but that number is only going to continue growing. Disney Vacation Club will undoubtedly announce another addition after Lakeshore Lodge comes online in 2027, and there will be a fairly seismic shift in 2042. That’s all worthy of consideration given the time horizon of membership.
On the other hand, direct prices are nothing short of excessive and the gap between the two is only growing. And since the whole point of Disney Vacation Club is to save money and lock-in lifelong Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacations as inexpensively as possible, I would probably be inclined to purchase via the resale market.
If we’re being rational and objective about DVC, which is necessary when it comes to any $10,000+ purchase (unless money is no object to you–in which case, why’d you read this?!), I think taking the upfront savings wins out for most people debating DVC resale vs. direct. But I also think it’s a much closer call than the numbers alone suggest, and surely is not a slam dunk decision in either direction.
There are undoubtedly some prospective purchasers reading this who might have specific reasons for wanting to buy direct, and that’s totally fair and understandable. But absent compelling justifications, resale is probably the best route. At the very least, this comparison should give you proper food for thought so you can make an informed decision for yourself!
If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
Your Thoughts
If you’re in the market to purchase Disney Vacation Club, what do you plan on doing in light of these new restrictions? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? If you’re an existing Member, what do you think? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
I am interested in purchasing a DVC. I am an annual pass holder as well as a Fl Res. Who loves going out to Disney ALL the time. I am curious of the purchasing half and half. Will Disney ever be able to not honor those DVC’s you purchase from resale? I want the most for my money as well as the perks. This sounded like the best idea…Please help.
You said: The 50 point purchase guarantees access to all current and future Membership Perks, and the remainder bought on the resale market saves money on total up-front cost.
Wouldn’t a 25 point purchase direct guarantee access to all current and future membership perks? Considering one already owns a resale contract and is currently a DVC member…
Just looking for clarification.
Thank you much,
Brad
I believe the minimum (direct purchase) for membership perks is now at 75 points.
Do you ever take into consideration Disneyland hotels? If I purchase resale I can’t use the Disneyland hotels in California if I can’t get into the grand with my points. We live on the west coast and don’t visits Disney world often it would be mainly Disneyland. Is it still worth resale? Or is the resale mainly a benefit for disney world?
Hey Tom, thanks for this post. I’m thinking about the Hybrid option you suggested. Would it be smart to keep our points on the same contract year? I’m thinking of 100-120 points resale for Animal Kingdom, so would it make sense to do 50 points from Old Key West?
Just came back from Disney and I’m currently within my 10 day cancellation period. I had planned on buying 50 points at the Poly just to get in and for the added perks. This year we’re AP. Normally, we’re not. In the future, we won’t buy an AP yearly. I know buying resale makes more $ sense. Since the AP discount isn’t a big advantage to me, I’m thinking resale may be the better way to go. I’ve been looking at buying a small contract at Saratoga Springa. We’re a family of 5 with 9 year old twins and a 6 year old. We’ve consistently gone to Disney yearly for the past 6 years. I’ve never stayed at a deluxe, just moderates. But, I’m ready for a change. The poly is nice, but don’t necessarily think $171 a point is worth it. So, should I stick with the resale market and buy first, then buy another 25 points through Disney? Or, should I downgrade from the poly and buy Saratoga direct from Disney? Buy 50 points, then buy the rest resale?
I am sorry to rehash a thought about hybrid purchases. If I understand a previous comment, I can buy via the resale market at any DVC resort I want as my home resort then go through direct sales to add at a minimum 25 points. If I do this then I will be eligible for all of the DVC benefits, plus my usage year will be the same, is this correct? I have been debating purchasing DVC for some time now and I just can’t justify direct purchase pricing. I can though feel good about the resale market. I have heard other hybrid approaches but this is the first time I heard of this way around the system and it makes sense.
What restrictions would apply for DVC members that are currently members but want to add on points thru resale? We are eligible for the discounts, cards, access to lounges and parties. How could they restrict us if we only add on another 25-50 points thru resale? Could they know the difference in the points we use when making a reservation?
No restrictions would apply to you.
Tom is this still true now that perks are different for direct vs resale points?
It’s important to consider the priority benefits of DVC ownership. One of the things that made us unsure about buying DVC was that people kept saying “you can just rent points” and, I thought maybe that would come out cheaper in the long run. While it might be cheaper for some people, you might find it completely impossible to book what you want. We own at the poly and were able to book 11 months out for a 9-day trip in November for the Wine and Dine half marathon. My parents don’t have a DVC ownership so, we tried to rent points for them from two different websites that had been recommended by this site and others but, even though we put in the request 9 months out (when there was availability) and were willing to pay the premium for that, neither site was able to actually secure a reservation for us before the rooms sold out. My parents ended up having to pay out of pocket to just stay at the Poly hotel. We were extremely disappointed because we had paid the deposit and filled out all the paperwork and they said there was availability so, we thought that meant they would get a room… but they didn’t. We got a refund of our deposit but, that really wasn’t what we wanted, we wanted them to get their reservation.
When we bought, we pretty much had to buy direct because we specifically really wanted to own at the Poly. We haven’t been owners for very long and, we want to own for a couple of years to see how we like it before we make any more purchases but, to us, since we already have the member perks of owning from Disney, the greatest value in buying more points would be in owning at other resorts so we could book further in advance. My greatest frustration, thus far, has been resort availability. I would almost definitely buy smaller interests via resale to increase the number of resorts where we have ownership interests. We have found it nearly impossible to get into the Grand Californian and that Hilton Head is generally entirely booked at the times we would want to go before we have the ability to make reservations. Although, we have very strict schedules so, for people with more vacation flexibility, this may not be as much of an issue. My only question moving forward would be whether Disney would ever take away the ability to use all of your points for an 11-month out booking at a resort where you maybe only own like 50 points and whether they would make a distinction between resale and direct-buy for this. If you can use resale purchases to increase how far out you can make your bookings, there are probably two or three places we will eventually acquire interests for. If not, it’s unlikely we would pay Disney-direct prices for anything besides the grand Californian just to get that ability.
I do agree with you that obtaining a reservation at Grand Californian or Hilton Head at the 7 month window is often just getting “lucky”, you can only book 11 months out with the points you have at that particular resort. You cannot own 50 points at Hilton Head and book a room for 150 points at the 11 month home resort advantage.
You can only book at the 11 month window with the points that you have at that home resort. So if you added 50 pts at BLT through re-sale or direct, you could only use those 50 points at the 11 month window. If you wanted to use the rest of your points from other resorts you could, but you would have to call back at the 7 month window to do that, and it would be subject to availability. I hope this helps, I’m not 100% sure if I addressed your concern.
Tom,
I love your blog! I’m also an attorney, disney addict, and I teach Contract Law. But I couldn’t have done anywhere near as good a job on this post. It’s such a valuable tool for anyone who is considering buying a piece of the mouse. Great analysis-
You offer good advice for new DVC members, Tom. I do follow the resale market market and have purchased 4 contracts that way. My last contract passed ROFR in March of last year, the last underpriced contract listed. Right after that DVC resales increased in price and have shot straight up. For the first time in over a year I am starting to see a few new listings come on the market at lower prices. Maybe the hot market is cooling down finally.
I hope you are right! I’m in the market now for SSR or possibly AK for right price. I’m checking prices every day and haven’t seen any noticeable drop off.
ROFR is Right of First Refusal, not Rolling on the Floor Reselling?
Seriously though, I’d like to know details. Disney buys back resale points, but does “first refusal” mean Disney has to wait until a 3rd party refuses the price or something?
Found out it’s Disney’s right to buy a currently pending resale contract if they find the price attractive (low) during their review. Ouch for that resale buyer, who just lost his great deal.
We’re looking to buy later in ’16, likely in Oct., and this site is very helpful in weighing the options.
The hybrid purchase is great advice, thanx!
So Disney is making the distinction that resale points are now excluded from the “membership extras” perks. OK, but right in the contract they make clear that the perks can & likely will change over time AND can even possibly be terminated altogether.
Marketing perks as the upsell to direct DVC points when they aren’t guaranteed is a special kind of ironic.
You will not be able to get a member card if you only buy resale points. They are now requiring you to show the card for discounts. We were at Disneyland a couple weeks ago and were refused the discount at all the stores and restaurants when we didn’t show the card. We were told last month on a cruise that if you want points at another resort besides poly and alauna, they could check to see what is available because they often do get points available…ROFR, foreclosure, etc. As far as calculating the value of discounts for direct members into the equation, it makes sense to do this. We saved A LOT of money in just one short trip. Think about all those meals, souvenirs, park tickets…it adds up. And the money I save is the same money a resale member has to pay! I can use those savings to cover a plane ticket or 2 or 3…get it? It absolutely has value and should be considered in the cost comparison
You’d be able to do the same with a Disney Visa, TiW, etc… so it isn’t necessarily a factor in most people’s cost strategy.
Ok, sorry-I get that this will look like I missed the whole point of the article…
but, you threw in the little “as we prepare to have enough children to form an all-Bricker boy band”.
Does that mean we are going to be seeing super crazy cute pictures of your twins (or more) soon?!
Don’t read anything into that–my normal attempt at “humor.”
I thought the same thing!! 🙂
Me too! I suddenly felt left out of the Bricker-baby-news loop. Bwaahahahaha.
If you are already a member, you can buy a 25 points add-on, instead of the 50 points minimum for new owners. So one could buy a resale contract and just add 25 points direct with the same UY (for the sake of simplicity in managing the membership). For a family of 4 interested in the Annual Pass discount the break even would be much much earlier.
Oh jeez, I can’t believe I didn’t think of making the purchases in reverse order. Of course that makes more sense to do than my idea of buying 50 points direct first. Thanks for this correction!
Could one (or both) of you expound on this? Would purchasing a contract on the resale market, then buying the add-on directly from Disney allow access to direct-only perks?
“Could one (or both) of you expound on this? Would purchasing a contract on the resale market, then buying the add-on directly from Disney allow access to direct-only perks?”
I’d love to know this as well! From what I can tell, you can only buy Aulani or Poly through Disney directly. So if you want to have Kidani or SSR or OKW, it seems like your only option is to go Resale, then Direct. Or buy Poly/Aulani, and then add for the resorts you’d like.
Even better, great!
The more and more I learn about DVC the more my mouth just drops open in disbelief. We finally attended a presentation on the cruise and although they promoted the ‘freedom’ of DVC, all I could think of was screaming ”entrapment”! Added to that, the difficulty friends have had booking their preferred rooms at Tokyo and Hong Kong Disney resorts (which is a poor use of points anyway) and the scrum of searching for availability 11 months out at Grand Floridian Villas etc. I think this change is unfortunately another notch in Disney’s nickle and dime trend recently. Bit pathetic really since those buying secondary market contracts are their bolted on die-hard consumers who are going to spend anyway.
The difficulty at Tokyo and Hong Kong is a poor example (IMO) because those can be very difficult (especially Japan) to book under normal circumstances. People sit at their computers hitting refresh for MiraCosta and Tokyo Disneyland Hotel when the *normal* (cash) booking windows for those open. As for DVC bookings, I think it really depends on what you’re after. There have been times when the resorts I want are gone at 7 months (particularly Oct-Dec), and other times when I find plenty of availability inside of 5 months.
You’re absolutely right about the nickel and diming, though. Instead of a bunch of “quick fixes” to improve profits from quarter to quarter, Disney needs to return to the kind of long-term thinking and decision-making that made so many of us diehard fans in the first place. Thankfully, to some extent this is happening with Star Wars Land, Pandora, and a few other changes, but there needs to be a total paradigm shift, with management feeling a vested interest in the long-term success of the parks.
Well said!! I fell in love with Disney, because I felt like they were one of the last remaining bastions that insisted upon not compromising for the dollar. Disney has always been expensive, but up til now the sense of value has been there due to them going the extra mile. This move and the recent early morning hours extortion and other money grabs have been a little concerning to me, but hey, I still love Disney enough to put up with it…for now.
A quick note on using DVC in Hong Kong. We traveled in March and had no problem getting reservations about six weeks out. It is good to note (unless it has changed since we went) that your park tickets are INCLUDED when you use your points for the room. A three night stay gets you three days in the parks. So, in this case, there is a good value for us using our points in HK Disney.
Hey Tom –
Thanks for the breakdown! We own 160 points at SSR that were purchased directly thru DVC. We’ve been looking to add on to our contract and it sounds like, if we added via resale, we’d still be OK with discounts, perks, etc. Another question I’ll pose to you – when adding on points to a contract, do you think it’s best to add on at the same resort (in our case, SSR) or does it really matter? Curious to hear your “Bricker Views” on that!
Thanks!
Mike
It can matter. This is particularly true if you own at a very popular resort and want more points so you can do a longer stay there. For example, let’s say you own at BCV and enjoy Food & Wine trips there, but want to upgrade your room class or do a longer trip there–you should buy at BCV to have the 11 month window for all those points.
HOWEVER, in your case, there’s no reason to do this. SSR is the least popular resort, and you are far better suited by purchasing more SSR points via resale than buying elsewhere directly. That is, unless you have your sights set on staying at one of the popular resorts during a popular time and view that 11 month window as essential.
Thanks for the insight! Are these new resale restrictions retroactive or just moving forward?
We purchased through Disney in December and were told our only options for a home resort was the Poly or Aulani, that all the other resorts were sold out.
Tom thanks so much for the analysis. We own at BLT and bought directly from Disney. We’d like to add on, and resale seems smarter $-wise, but we would also like to, at least every 2 years or so, exchange via RCI to visit other places. Has that feature of direct purchase factored into your opinion at all? Or do you feel there is better value in paying out of pocket for such accommodations?
In your position, adding on via resale definitely makes more sense. You have nothing to lose since you already have access to Membership Perks via your current contract.
Using DVC points for RCI also falls into the “terrible use” category, and I would strongly recommend that you think twice before buying more points to accomplish this. You are far better off acquiring the points you need for each trip via eBay (or elsewhere–I haven’t done a ton of research into the marketplaces) or pay out of pocket for those trips.
On a recent DCL cruise, the DVC pitch guy accosted me after a meet and greet with Daisy Duck. He was trying to get me into his presentation and said that I could use my DVC points to go on future cruises. I laughed and said that Tom Bricker told me to NEVER EVER use DVC points on anything other than DVC resorts. He said “Clearly this Tom Bricker has no idea what he’s talking about.” And I said that he clearly had no idea who Tom Bricker was, and that he best google him ASAP.
Hahaha, if he did Google “Tom Bricker,” I’m sure he was thoroughly underwhelmed.
I wonder to what extent these DVC pitch people know what they are talking about versus reciting a canned spiel.
I went through a presentation at Disneyworld last August and was told the only properties you could buy into were Hawaii and the new Disneyworld properties. I was told there was no availablity at Saratoga or any other older DVC. The new properties are very expensive.
That is only half true. While the older properties are technically sold out (on their initial run of points), Disney regularly exercises ROFR to reacquire points on those properties.
If, during that pitch, you said, “the only resort I am willing to buy is Saratoga and I’ll buy via resale if I can’t purchase it directly,” chances are they would have responded with, “let me see what I can do…”
In 2011 we were on the Disney Dream and went to the sales pitch. We already owned at AKL but wanted the home court advantage at VWL. We set the appointment and met with the sales rep. He was still pitching AKL and I think BLT at the time. I said; I want VWL 200 points. He then sat there and looked at me for a moment. “You don’t want to add on to your AKL so you have a better chance of booking at 11 months?” I said No. Don’t care about that.
He poked at the computer keyboard for a moment and said; “OK, 200 point at VWL it is. They are $115 per point.” I said; no $100 per point.
I got the 200 points at the “sold out” VWL for $100 per point.
You just have to stand your ground. They hate it when you try to walk away.
From what I’ve read and understand, new members through the resale market will no longer be getting membership cards. Not sure if this is absolutely true, but that’s what I heard. Hence, they would not be able to get discount or access to lounges and events.
I had not heard that, but it certainly seems logical. I can’t think of any other purpose the Membership Card serves aside from access to those locations and discounts. I’ll do a bit of digging to see if I can confirm independently, and update as appropriate. Thanks for the tip!
Along those lines, on our last trip we had not received the new membership cards yet and every single cast member commented on it when we used the discount. I was surprised how informed they were about the new DVC cards. No member cards also makes sense, or possibly drastically different cards for resale members?
I have also been told that member cards will not be available to resale dvc after 04/01/16. I have been watching the resale market closely for the last couple years, and if anything pricing has continued to go up over the last couple of months, so I’ve seen no appreciable effect since they took away the benefits. Other than the bad taste that it left in my mouth.
I don’t follow the resale market closely enough to spot month to month trends, but that’s interesting (and unexpected). I wonder if Disney is hurting themselves by virtue of announcing the restrictions? Implicit in each announcement about “direct sale” benefits is the fact that a resale market exists. Some (many?) people may not think of this on their own, but might read the announcement and be tipped off to the existence of the resale market.
Even that seems like a stretch, but I can’t think of any other explanation? Maybe it will take a few more months for the effect of this change to be felt in terms of pricing?
That would be an interesting take. My guess is that the taking away of the incidentals are not seen as a big enough deterrent to buy direct. As you and others have mentioned, you can add 25 points direct and get all the perks.
I know there is no way that I’m spending the extra for 10% discounts.
We bought resale in April. In the middle of closing we were told the new benefit restrictions would apply to us. We did however receive membership cards.