Armchair DVC Purchasing

April 23, 2024

We’ve all seen them. They sit in front of the television, screaming at the screen, telling the coach, the players, the commentators, and even the cheerleaders what to do and how to do their job better. Or perhaps, they are a blogger or Disney website owner that explains how the current creatives have ruined the magic and how they could have made a Disney attraction bigger, better, and more efficient. We call these heroes armchair quarterbacks (or armchair Imagineers in the latter case). Honestly, we’ve all probably participated in these activities from time to time. I mean who hasn’t dreamt up a new concept for a Disney park or resort and argued its merit online to the fascination of four people? (My Villains Resort, complete with Flotsam and Jetsam twin waterslides into Ursula’s Grotto pool™ is brilliant and I will defend that to the death slight discomfort)

So today, we won’t be armchair Imagineering, but armchair DVC purchasing. As I’ve mentioned in earlier articles, the Disney Vacation Club is a product that was made for me. I have white collar tastes with blue collar income. I love staying on property. I like to visit one or more times a year. All of those things come together to make DVC the perfect product for my family.

I am poor.

I cannot justify a major purpose when I have school loans, medical bills, and teenage kiddos. In light of this devastating and depressing state of affairs, the best I can do is make a plan for when my ship comes in and be ready to pounce. So get ready to fantasy-pick a property, a number of points, and a use year, because we are here to make all of our timeshare dreams come true.

Resort

Obviously, this is the most important piece of the pie. While you can use your points at any DVC resort (with a caveat regarding Riviera Resort and the Villas of Disneyland Hotel of course), getting that 11 month booking advantage is crucial. Or is it? Well, that depends on where you want to stay. And when. If you want to book club level at Jambo House, you need to buy Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you want to stay in the Wilderness Lodge during the holidays, you need to buy Copper Creek. If you want to stay at Beach Club or Boardwalk during Food & Wine Festival, you need to buy there.

However, if you’re looking for network points or have the flexibility to stay wherever is available at 7 months, then location isn’t going to be as important. Lower dues, lower up-front costs, and length of contract might be the more essential details for you. If you don’t HAVE to have a value studio at Kidani Village or a standard view at Boardwalk in October, then do some comparison shopping.

Then there is the direct or resale debate. Many times, resale is half the price of buying direct, but you don’t get any of the perks (I know, I know, the perks could go away at any time, but the cheaper AP, the opportunities for Moonlight Magic, and other perks are still pretty nice). If lodging is the only concern though, then it seems that resale is a no-brainer.

Now in this scenario, obviously I am the armchair purchaser, so I know what I value. While I have no desire to ever stay at the Villas of Disneyland Hotel or the Riviera, because of all of the buying incentives, I still might consider a direct purchase of one of these (or Aulani). All you Riviera stans can save your breath. I don’t care how nice the rooms are, the resort will never be my first (or 10th) choice. I don’t like the location. I don’t like the underwhelming lobby. I’m not crazy about any of the dining locations. And I just have an issue with a deluxe resort having stunning views of… a moderate resort. Humbug! In dealing directly with Disney, I could separate my points into two contracts. Not only would this make them easier to offload later if I needed to, but I could will them to multiple children. After one direct purchase however, I would definitely seek out resale contracts for any other add-on points I would want. And I WOULD want.

My knee-jerk impulse would be a resale Polynesian contract and a resale Animal Kingdom Lodge contract. Neither of those are 2042 resorts which means they’re good for longer. AKL was the first deluxe resort my wife and I stayed at, and that holds a pretty nostalgic place in the cockles of my heart. And with the Poly tower staying under the same condo association as the rest of the Polynesian resort, I have a strong interest in that property.

Number of Points

Every piece of advice I’ve ever heard is “buy as many points as you can reasonably afford”, and I’m not going to deviate from that formula. We’re obviously spit balling here because I have no bird and I have no bush. Iger has taken my bird and my bush. But if I DID have the funds to step up to the DVC plate, I think I would get 200 direct points, so as to maximize the current slate of incentives. After that I would look to pick up either 100 or 150 points each at the Poly and Animal Kingdom Lodge. 400 to 500 points sound like a lot, but even if you only manage two or three trips per year, you are going to burn them up quick. And if you go for anything other than studios, you will really go through them fast.

Use Year

Since DVC Direct guides can change the use year on contracts, I would likely buy my resale contracts first. I can shop the best deal, and then have DVC match my use year with my direct points. Since my favorite week of the year to vacation with the Mouse is the first week of December, I might choose a December use year. When perusing resale contracts, I see more December contracts that any other, so there seems to be a variety. It’s not overly important in the scheme of things as long as they all match.

Sure, I could have said “hey, while we’re just dreaming, let’s do 2500 points and a house in Golden Oak”, but I really don’t like to stray too far outside the bounds of logic. 500 points suits me right down to the ground. And I’m fairly certain I will still run out. I didn’t even mention renting out points to help recoup the cost, because come on, I’m using every point I have and probably purchasing a few one-time-use points.

One day I will be a DVC owner, of that I am certain. It will not be today or probably tomorrow, but I have a dream. A dream of banked and borrowed points going toward an ocean view villa in Hawaii. A dream of hosting a huge karaoke party in one of those spiffy media rooms in a Grand Floridian Grand Villa. A dream of preparing a Thanksgiving meal in a Copper Creek Cabin. A dream of saddling a wildebeest and riding it from Kidani Village to Jambo to eat dinner at Boma. I will never give up on my dreams. And you shouldn’t either. (Except that last one. That one’s mine so BACK OFF!)