Have you ever seen DVC direct prices decrease before?

[HIRyeDVC]

They delved deeply into discounts and other incentives to do so.

I hope there’ll be some steep discounts for VDH, though I’m not counting on it

 

[DisneyOutsider]

While no one can predict the future, most experts are predicting at least a mild recession. Disney had very little trouble selling AKL, VGC, and BLT during the 2008 Great Recession. I don’t see them having trouble selling this time around either.

I never said otherwise, though the thought of "experts" opining on market timing makes my eyes roll all of the way outside of my cranium.

My comment was more about OP's sentiment of wondering if waiting for a recession would present a better buying opportunity. In theory it does, but the reality is much different once the fear, uncertainty and doubt creep in.

If you want a true look at what a recession does to DVC demand, ask folks around here what happened to resale prices around that same timeframe.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I never said otherwise, though the thought of "experts" opining on market timing makes my eyes roll all of the way outside of my cranium.

My comment was more about OP's sentiment of wondering if waiting for a recession would present a better buying opportunity. In theory it does, but the reality is much different once the fear, uncertainty and doubt creep in.

If you want a true look at what a recession does to DVC demand, ask folks around here what happened to resale prices around that same timeframe.

I get what you’re saying and I agree. But recessions don’t impact everyone the same way. Some people are desperate to sell while others storm in and buy the dip. All I’m saying is, Disney has enough to weather the financial storm and will sell out their properties like they did in 2008. Just my opinion.

 

[SouthJersey]

Hey everyone, I was able to access my original account (I'm the OP) and wanted to thank you all for the help.
I've pretty much decided to buy 150 direct and the rest of our desired points resale and all for the same property (VGF), but I just wanted to confirm a few things:

Is there any direct DVC member benefits I lose on trips not booked with my direct contract points? Or am I able to use dining/merchandise discounts on any stays and other perks like lounges etc?
What are the key 'losses' or issues to account for with getting direct 150 and the rest resale? I'm going to purchase the same use year.

 

[Sandisw]

Hey everyone, I was able to access my original account (I'm the OP) and wanted to thank you all for the help.
I've pretty much decided to buy 150 direct and the rest of our desired points resale and all for the same property (VGF), but I just wanted to confirm a few things:

Is there any direct DVC member benefits I lose on trips not booked with my direct contract points? Or am I able to use dining/merchandise discounts on any stays and other perks like lounges etc?
What are the key 'losses' or issues to account for with getting direct 150 and the rest resale? I'm going to purchase the same use year.

As long as you own 150 direct points, you will be eligible for shopping and dining discounts., as well as the ability to enter the Epcot lounge.

You do need to be staying onsite to access TOWTL. You need to be staying on your membership to book the Wicked Wind Down event. So far, we have reports that people could even when resale points were used to book because that membership was eligible.

 

[SouthJersey]

As long as you own 150 direct points, you will be eligible for shopping and dining discounts., as well as the ability to enter the Epcot lounge.

You do need to be staying onsite to access TOWTL. You need to be staying on your membership to book the Wicked Wind Down event. So far, we have reports that people could even when resale points were used to book because that membership was eligible.

Do they ever nitpick down to things like if my stay is a mix of direct & resale contracts? I'm going to have three total contracts (2 resale, 1 direct) all for the same use year.

 

[Sandisw]

Do they ever nitpick down to things like if my stay is a mix of direct & resale contracts? I'm going to have three total contracts (2 resale, 1 direct) all for the same use year.

As long your membership is eligible, then which contracts you used to book the stay has not mattered at all.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Have you seen the new GF promotions? They are improved over Riviera currently. It may be worthwhile to buy all 500 direct GF if that's the home base you love, but split it into 150 x number of children you hope to pass it on to someday or 150+50/100 until you get the desired 500. Enjoy!

 

[Lumpy1106]

I know this is super subjective and varies person to person, but how would you personally structure 400-500 point contracts? Our favorites are Grand Floridian & Wilderness Lodge, followed by Animal Kingdom. I was always told to not bother with an AK contract as its one of the easiest to waitlist into?

I would not own any contract that has more points than your typical stay. As others have said, it can be difficult to resell larger contracts, plus you will want flexibility yourself. Maybe you go 2-3 weeks a year now, what if you decide to drop that back to 1 week/year? If you have smaller contracts you can pare your points down to just what you need. Do match the use years - that can get confusing. I see no point owning any more direct points than what it takes to get the Blue Card. Remember you can always bank and borrow - you do not need to use all the points every year, nor are you stuck if you need to borrow points from a future year.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Do they ever nitpick down to things like if my stay is a mix of direct & resale contracts? I'm going to have three total contracts (2 resale, 1 direct) all for the same use year.

In terms of blue card benefits - no. As long as you own the minimum you get the benefits - you don't even need to be staying on any of those direct points.

 

[Cfabar1]

I know people who have visited TOTWL without staying on property during that visit. Is that something they actually enforce?

 

[Sandisw]

I know people who have visited TOTWL without staying on property during that visit. Is that something they actually enforce?

Typically yes. And since it reopened as only limited to those eligible for membership extras, they seem to be even more strict than in the past.

Many nights, between the events and walk ups, it’s full and people are being put on the waitlist.

 

[Cfabar1]

Given that that lounge (the time I was in it) blurred the line between sales pitch and place to get a free Coke, I don’t know why they wouldn’t let all members including resale to access it. It’s not exactly the Delta Skycluv or Centurion lounge. It is nice, but not worth paying direct prices for alone to me. (Best reason would be post 2042 resort availability).

 

[CarolynFH]

Given that that lounge (the time I was in it) blurred the line between sales pitch and place to get a free Coke, I don’t know why they wouldn’t let all members including resale to access it. It’s not exactly the Delta Skycluv or Centurion lounge. It is nice, but not worth paying direct prices for alone to me. (Best reason would be post 2042 resort availability).

Are you talking about the Member Lounge in Epcot? They give out free Coke there. The discussion above was about the Top of the World Lounge at BLT, and so far as I know they never gave out anything for free!

 

[Cfabar1]

Yes I’m referring to the Epcot lounge. Apologies!

 

[ParkHoppers]

If I was looking for 500 points I would buy 2 contracts of 150 and 1 at 200. All at the same resort with the same use year. Make one of the 150 contracts direct to be eligible for extra benefits. Easy peasy.

 

[The Jackal]

I know people who have visited TOTWL without staying on property during that visit. Is that something they actually enforce?

I was a fan of the old TOTWL. Not the new one. Not sure if it was new cast members ( yes I’m talking multiple), but our experience was not pleasant. Hope things change.

 

[bakerworld]

We bought direct in '08. DVD lowered the initial cost by gifting enough to reduce the cost comparable to 10 years previous. I think that was a perfect storm situation - economy plus 3 DVC properties in the process of building at the same time. Almost everyone we talked to at Disney bought at that time.

I've often wondered who has the funds to purchase resale contracts in the hundreds and thousand point range. I guess it's retirees - LOL.

 

[Cfabar1]

We bought direct in '08. DVD lowered the initial cost by gifting enough to reduce the cost comparable to 10 years previous. I think that was a perfect storm situation - economy plus 3 DVC properties in the process of building at the same time. Almost everyone we talked to at Disney bought at that time.

I've often wondered who has the funds to purchase resale contracts in the hundreds and thousand point range. I guess it's retirees - LOL.

It is a situation like this that I am hoping to use, at some point, to purchase directly. In the meantime, I will probably skew towards the 2042 resorts, which means I can stay anywhere except Rivera (for now). I figure there is bound to be a recession between now and then.

 

[Lorana]

It is a situation like this that I am hoping to use, at some point, to purchase directly. In the meantime, I will probably skew towards the 2042 resorts, which means I can stay anywhere except Rivera (for now). I figure there is bound to be a recession between now and then.

I will endlessly regret not buying in sooner (but of course I didn't really have the money to own way back when), but while 2020 wasn't a "perfect storm," the direct deals made it cheaper to buy into RIV than the initial offerings, so we were pretty happy and bought direct at RIV when we had not previously been considering it.