Current From Disney Offer?

[Jack Skellington]

Hello,

[Apologies in advance if I am not allowed to ask this...]

It has been a long time since I looked into DVC ownership. Just wondering what the current offer is from Disney direct. Which resorts are they selling? What is the price/point? Lastly, any incentives?

We seriously considered it long ago, before kids. Now that we have 2 girls, we (I am) are considering it again.

JS

[VWL Mom]

The only offer right now is on Aulani. They offer is developer credits ranging from $1250-$3200 on contracts from 100 points to 1000 points. The base cost is $155 per point.

Other direct current point costs (100 point minimum):
BLT/VGC $165
VGF/AKL $155
BCV/BWV/OKW/VWL $130
VB/HHI $115

[DisneyFan1979]

When I bought in the fall they were also offering a year's extra points.

They also had the developer credit. I believe the extra points offer was tied to saying yes within so many days of our meeting with the salesperson.

[Jack Skellington]

So what is the benefit to buying direct?

JS

[blondeinbrandon]

We just did the tour.
They were pushing VGF for $155 but said a price increase to $165 was coming up. He said they had extra points from last year so if we bought now our first year would have double points (pay for 50 and have 100 in 2014).
We received a $50 gift card for taking the tour, and it lasted about 90 minutes and ended with a nice free ice cream from Edys.
We learned a lot and will probably buy DVC through resale. The only perks you lose with resale is being able to use the points for cruises and adventures by Disney as well as their group of certain fine hotels in the world. But we plan on using points only at DVC so resale works for us.

[blondeinbrandon]

I should have mentioned that buying resale also shortens the life of the contract. If we bought from Disney now we would have it for 50 years, if we buy resale it could be as short as 28 years. Hope that makes sense.

[VWL Mom]

I should have mentioned that buying resale also shortens the life of the contract. If we bought from Disney now we would have it for 50 years, if we buy resale it could be as short as 28 years. Hope that makes sense.

Buying resale doesn't change the life of the contract with the exception of OKW where direct is 2057 and resale is either 2042 or 2057. It is based on the resort the points are purchased at.

VWL, HHI, BWV, BCV, VB end 2042
OKW 2042/2057
SSR 2054
AKV 2057
BLT/VGC 2060
Aulani 2062
VGF 2064

[TheDuckRocks]

When we bought direct through Disney in 2009 they were able to handle financing and they covered all closing costs. The resale options at the time did not. Plus Disney gave us an extra years points to start us out, let us chose any DVC resort we wanted, any use year month and the exact number of points we needed. I don't know what they are currently offering but it sure wouldn't hurt to ask.

[DisneyFan1979]

One factor that was relevant for me in deciding to buy through Disney was that at the time the resorts and points amounts I was interested in that were available on the resale market were all for contracts that had did not have points available for use until essentially two years ahead: meaning the current use year points had already been used and they had already borrowed from the year ahead as well. So when you calculated the fact that you had to start paying dues as soon as you closed but really couldn't start vacationing for a year and a half that reduced how much I would have saved buying resale.

[Jack Skellington]

Thanks all for the replies. I generally understand how the club works.

You have your home resort (which determines how long your contract lasts) and you can book there 11 months out, 7 months at other resorts.

Currently, I see Boardwalk Villas resale (with current points) as low as $79 a point, which is a long way off $155 a point at VGF.

So, aside from home resort choice, what is the benefit of buying direct from Disney? You can use your points for Cruises and other hotels? Is that it?

Thanks,

JS

[greengeen]

Buy direct and your contract will not be stripped of thousands of dollars worth of points, as virtually every resale contract is; you can get the exact number of points, resort, and use year you want; you get your points and online access immediately, before your contract even closes; no months of waiting and worrying about ROFR or fickle sellers; lower closing costs, no administrative fees; and you can charge all or most of it to your Disney Visa and get hundreds of dollars in rewards, if you're planning to pay off right away anyway.

I bought several small add-ons direct during a promotion last spring, and in the end paid about same or LESS than I see small contracts selling for resale. And my contracts were fully loaded, not stripped.

[VWL Mom]

There are resales that are not stripped of points and may even have banked points with them.

We bought our original points through Disney and were able to split the points into two contracts. When we wanted to pickup some more points in 2012 we did through through resale and got VWL for $55/point with 150 banked points which I turned around and rented out.

For us though, since we already owned there was no rush. If the ROFR was grabbed, we could wait. It worked out for us and the whole thing was completed in under 2 months.

[DisneyFan1979]

The best advice I personally can offer is to think carefully about exactly what you want: how you vacation, how many days and when you want to go, how many people, what size accommodations you prefer, how far in advance you can book, etc. and then sit down and compare your options direct and at resale.

Like I mentioned in my previous comment, at the time I was looking to buy the resale options did not meet my needs. And also Disney was selling both Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom and I very much like the Animal Kingdom Lodge so was happy to have that as my home resort. And finally, personally, I was more comfortable buying direct. (I'm an attorney and I'm not entirely convinced that Disney's smart lawyers can't later in the future figure out a way to further restrict resale owners down the line if they want to. Disney does want to protect the value of their brand after all, and while they do have a right of first refusal on resales, there could come a time when they decide they want to protect the brand in other ways.)

[Jack Skellington]

I get that (I am also an attorney).

Economically, I think part of the strength of DVC is the fact that it holds decent resale value. Disney exercising its ROFR on occasion keeps that afloat and protects the value of everyone's membership.

Just take a look at other timeshare options. Most can be bought at pennies on the dollar at resale, since most TS companies are not interested in exercising ROFR, but rather more interested in getting people who don't do their homework in the door to buy from the developer.

Of all the TS companies I have become familiar with, DVC is the best when it comes to sales presentations, value of resale, and accomodations.

Question: Do they note in your record that you are a resale purchaser? They certainly do know you purchased at resale, since they get ROFR notice.

That said, once they pass on the ROFR, isn't that at least an acceptance of your purchase and/or waiver of any recourse they may have to treat you differently? Arguably? (getting lawyerly now! )

JS

[VWL Mom]

Not sure where they record whether or not its resale or direct. I just looked online at mine and can't tell the difference between the 2 direct and 1 resale, doesn't differentiate on the dues statement either. It's probably in the deed filings.

They can change offerings down the road. Last change in 2011 grandfathered in those that had previously bought resale. I would think any new change would be handled the same way. They can also change offerings on direct sales, nothing is guaranteed. As the new properties are added they could very well exclude them from use.

[Jack Skellington]

In 2011, what did they "grandfather in"? What privileges were given to resale in 2011, that weren't already given?

Thanks,

JS

[DisneyFan1979]

My understanding is that the restrictions on the Adventurer Collection, Concierge Collection, and Disney Collection that were put in place in 2011 were applied only to those who purchased at resale going forward. So if you bought at resale before 2011 you can still use your points in the same way direct buyers can.

[Jack Skellington]

Sorry, but can someone remind me what the "Developer Credits" are?

Thanks,

JS

[VWL Mom]

Developer Credit is just a dollar amount discount applied to you purchase.

Current offer is for Aulani only:
$155 per point

• less $2 per point incentive AND $1250 Developer Credit; 100-149 points
• less $4 per point incentive AND $1750 Developer Credit; 150-199 points
• less $6 per point incentive AND $2750 Developer Credit; 200-299 points
• less $8 per point incentive AND $3200 Developer Credit; 300-999 points
• less $9 per point incentive AND $3200 Developer Credit; 1000+ points

[Jack Skellington]

Back to the "benefit" of using one's DVC points for the "collections".... I am sure this is a matter of opinion, however, is it not an uneconomic use of DVC points to stay at a non-DVC resort, considering the DVC resorts are extremely popular and hard to get through RCI? Not to mention that the point cost is very steep to stay on property using your points at a non-DVC resort?

Can't imagine what a week at the Waldorf Astoria or the Plaza in NYC would cost you in DVC points.