Man I'm glad I bought back in the '90s

jodifla

WDW lover since 1972
Joined
Jan 19, 2002
I find all the resale vs. Direct sales kind of exhausting. I am not even sure there was much of a resale market back when we bought.

For us, we always bought with the idea we would keep it till the end, or at least as long as we planned to go to Disney. We didn't remotely plan on being able to sell them for a profit (which we could now....unheard of after buiying direct and owning 23 years) but we were pretty sure Dvc would only get more expensive.

I have to admit the blue card is important to me. I like and use all the perks possible. As is staying at our DVC and not somewhere on Irlo Branson Highway.

Don't love all the changes to DVC, but some have been fantastic, like all the new resorts and member nights.

IMO Disney offered buyers a HUGE opportunity to have member benefits at only 25 points. People should have jumped then. And if it is 100 now it will probably be 150 next year. Pay it or don't, but I don't think it is fair in this case to say the writing wasn't on the wall.

Vent over. For now.
 
I'm glad I got in with a 25 point direct, the rest resale hybrid. I advise others to only go all resale now, though. And to only buy in if they are really going to maximize the use out of it.
 
I agree. I was just telling DH that we now own something that no longer exists...we own a 100-point resale contract that has FULL benefits (bought in Aug 2008) and we also own a direct 50-pt contract with FULL benefits (bought in Feb 2011). If we sold either one of those, we would never be able to replace either one of them to their full value. Every time I look at how much they have appreciated in value (the AKV contract has gone up almost 25% in just 10 years), I briefly think about selling. Then I think about how much it would cost us to get back the same product at a later time if we decided to do so and the thought of selling quickly vanishes. Even if we didn't go for a few years, I could easily rent the points to cover MF's (and even net a little extra) without losing my precious membership.
 
We were very fortunate to have purchased 20 years ago as well. With using it for ourselves and young children (at the time) foremost in our thinking. I was the one who
thought of it at the time, and who thinks of it now, as a lifelong thing. Granted our contracts will expire within our lifetime (hopefully) but we’ll be in our 80’s by then, and will have used it most of our adult lives.

I will admit the maintenance fees are getting tougher to swing, so are the multiple trips per year, but we’re still young enough to be working so we make it work.
DVC is one of those luxuries that will remain priority for as long as possible, so is the use of it to the fullest extent. All of our contracts were purchased direct. We just always felt more comfortable that way. We didn’t think about possible changes for resales down the road or anything like that. We bought what we could afford when we could afford it. Thankfully so! Started looking in 1999 and closed early in 2000 on our first contract. Last add on was in 2011. We have more than enough.....but still wish I had a little more! 😂
 


Its great for those that were able to buy back then. But for those of us with young families just now, buying direct just doesn't make sense price or benefit wise. Now if I had a time machine and could go back and buy in 1999, I'd buy all direct too. But in 2019 NO WAY!
 
We bought our first contract in 2000 I just wish we had bought more points at that time. I also wish I bought BWV as soon as it became available, the price per point was better at that time. That being said if I had bought more points in 2000 I wouldn't have thought to buy smaller multiple contract so if at some point I needed to or wanted to sell I could do so for more money and much faster then if I were selling a larger contract. This is something I didn't realize at the time and one of the things that over time became very clear to me. Luckily I have never needed to sell and I still love my DVC so I don't have any plans to sell anytime soon.

As far as cost goes when comparing per point costs of today to 20 years ago it is all relevant. People didn't make as much money 20 years ago and it was a stretch back then for us but with creative money management I found a way. :flower3: I do agree that prices today are kind of crazy but apparently there are plenty of people who think they are ok and can afford the current day pricing. Good luck to them.

My only complaint is that overall Disney has gotten very expensive. We noticed about two years ago how much dinning prices had increased, last year it didn't seem so bad and I'm guessing that's because we had the sticker shock the prior year. This year it was the cost of annual pass, I didn't pull the trigger soon enough and had to pay the increased price, my bad.
 
So glad I bought BWV in 1999 @ $65/pt. I can’t imagine buying at today’s prices. I’ve been going 2 or 3 times a year, WDW and DL. I was thinking about how often I would go without DVC. Maybe once. Another factor is the Gold AP. I paid $609 plus tax for the one I activated in April. Now a non member Platinum is $1119! I wouldn’t be buying that! I’m single, buying for only myself, I can’t imagine with a family!
 


I’m with the OP - though we bought in 2005. What I’m also glad we did was buy 200 points vs the 160. We did a same UY add on at SSR (home) so we have 320 points total. Our points allow us to choose good and “bad” use for our accommodations. We have gone multiple times in the year with our DVC APs, and we have had years where we banked.

I, too, love my Blue Card and its discounts, and I see us keeping our contracts for at least another 20 years.
 
Its great for those that were able to buy back then. But for those of us with young families just now, buying direct just doesn't make sense price or benefit wise. Now if I had a time machine and could go back and buy in 1999, I'd buy all direct too. But in 2019 NO WAY!

If we didn’t buy it in 2000 and add on a little at a time through the early 2000’s, we wouldn’t be able to buy it now, direct or resale. We just got too busy with the demands of raising kids and home ownership, then college for twins and weddings almost back to back. It worked out when and the way it needed to. We’re lucky. Now we’ll be taking our grandbabes for the 2nd time. No matter when or how people purchase, it’s an awesome thing to own and a great place to be! Enjoy your ownership!
 
I bought resale in May 2013 at BLT. The economy was going through a down cycle then and was able to pick up a nice 240 point contract at a good price. Have a blue DVC card from that. I do rent out points to pay maintenance fees as we generally go about every other year.
 
I bought in 2011 and 2013, and am happy with the prices from back then. They were both resale, so the prices were similar to the direct prices from way back when. I consider selling but in the meantime, I rent enough to cover part of the maintenance fees when we don't use all our points (400 pts)
 
we bought in 2002 BWV 150 resale, 2003 BWV 100 direct and 2003 late 150 resale= 400 BWV. That was enough.
 
Have direct and resale points, all bought long enough ago to be fully eligible for DVC benefits and perks. That being said, those perks and bennies aren't worth the savings you get buying direct unless you get a small contract or a hot property. Just a quick example: BLT can be had for as little as $135-$150 if you're patient. Through Disney, you won't touch it for anything under $180 or so. Just 200 points would net you a savings of $6K-$9K going resale. We couldn't possibly make up that amount with 10-20% savings at restaurants and shops, or even discounted APs. Others likely could. There is the cachet of having a blue card, and that's something to consider. Again, that's a lot of cachet for thousands of dollars. As to the price of DVC relevant to rising wages and inflation index, DVC pricing has far outstripped the mean for both over the past decade plus. Still, that's Disney seeking maximum profit from a willing audience, so hard to fault them there. Conversely, it's difficult for me and many others to continue touting DVC as a game changer for vacations for your average family, and so I now avidly urge any new buyers to understand the huge financial commitment DVC is now and will be down the road. Given Disney's propensity to cut costs and benefits and perks, I can no longer recommend a company that seeks to "meet industry standard" when they used to set that same standard years past.
 
Standing in line, sharing tables or otherwise talking to folks over the last 20+ years, more than once we’ve told people how wonderful it’s been for our family and suggested they investigate DVC (and contemplate resale vs. direct). It’s become so expensive now, and the restrictions and other changes seem to be coming so frequently, that I don’t think we’ll be recommending it very much in future. 😔
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top