My Experience Buying Disney Vacation Club

 In the fall of 2021 I pulled the trigger and purchased Disney Vacation Club. Well technically I pulled the trigger in the summer and actually purchased it in October. So, I thought I would talk about the experience. I do wish I had taken better notes on prices, but I think it's still worth sharing.

First, I want to talk about my history with DVC. My parents purchased at Bay Lake Tower around 2010 after their first childfree trip. Then, in 2017 they purchased a second smaller contract at the Polynesian. I was actually added to that contract so I could use the benefits like discounts. I would also have a blue card, while purchasing a contract resale. I’m no expert on the different cards and benefits so I’m not going into all of that.

I’ve stayed DVC with my parents a few times. I’ve stayed in a two bedroom at Bay Lake Tower, a studio at the Polynesian, and a studio in Saratoga Springs. Those have all been great trips.

I’ve wanted to buy DVC for a long time, but I didn’t think I was in the right place financially. With my financial situation changing in the last couple of years and going to Florida more frequently I thought it was time. In early 2021, I started saving. I hate debt so my plan was to pay cash. So,I thought it might happen in a couple of years.

I am in a DVC group on Facebook and will occasionally check on resale listings. By the summer it looked like prices were going up exponentially just like the regular housing market. That made me feel like now was a good time to buy. Maybe not a good time, but prices probably weren’t going to come down. 

My plan was to buy resale at Saratoga Springs. It tends to be a cheaper resort. I also really enjoyed my stay there so I wouldn’t mind staying there each trip if I had to. So, I researched contracts there and found one that was stripped. I didn’t mind because I didn’t plan on using any points in 2021. Plus, that made it cheaper. I put in an offer and after a counter-offer that I accepted we submitted to Disney for Right of First Refusal. That is the most stressful part because you just wait to see if Disney will take the contract.

After about three weeks, my agent called me to say Disney did exercise Right of First Refusal. He said they could move my deposit to another contract or take it back. Prices were still going up so I didn’t want to wait. That night I searched available contracts and offered on another one. This one was about $10 more per point. I hoped this would help me get through ROFR. Sadly, it did not. I told my agent I needed to think about what I was going to do before offering on another contract. 

Several months had passed and waiting to hear from Disney was very stressful. I considered offering on another resort that had more years left like Grand Floridian. I also started looking at buying direct from Disney. That is more expensive, but it wasn’t much more and you don’t have to wait.

At this point, my parents also said they wouldn’t be buying at the Riviera which they had been considering. I love the Riviera. Disney also had a deal/offer for discounted Riviera points.

So, I submitted a quote request on Saturday and a DVC agent called me on Sunday. After discussing the cost I said I wanted to go forward. She took my credit card for the downpayment and was sending me paperwork to sign electronically. I had my down payment from the resale company refunded and used that toward this one. The following weekend I got my documents notarized virtually (the notary was great).

I got my points almost instantly after signing and submitting the paperwork. The whole thing was very fast. That’s part of the premium you pay for. 

I did look at trying to book a trip before the end of the year. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t anything available at the Riviera. I want my first stay to be there. Ultimately, I booked a four night stay in June in a Tower Studio. I’m very excited for this trip. It’ll be my first solo trip, too.

This wasn’t how I expected the process to go, but I’m very happy with where I ended up.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Trip Report: Feeling that Florida Heat (Day 2, Part 2 | July 2021)

 With our snacks finished, we continued around the World Showcase. We finally found Remy in Japan! That was the hardest one of the whole festival I think. We continued our hunt in Germany and China, but we didn’t get anything to eat.

When we got to Norway, we did pop into Kringla. Neither of us have eaten here before, but we had seen some good things online so we wanted to try the almond kringla. While in line we impulsively purchased the lefse. The lefse was a hit with both of us. It reminded me of putting cinnamon sugar and butter on my toast as a kid. The kringla was a bit dry for me. I don’t think it was poorly made, its just a drier item.

After our treats and some free cups of water, we continued to Mexico. We rode on Three Caballeros. We also checked out our recent favorite: the glasswork cM in the Mexico pavilion. It’s always fascinating to see him work.

As is usually the case in Mexico, we could not find Remy. We probably searched the whole thing three times before finally finding him. Since we finished our loop of the World Showcase, we headed to Future World. We stopped at the Odyssey building to refill our water bottles and go to the bathroom.

First, we checked on Test Track, but the line was too long for us. Instead we went for Spaceship Earth. Sadly, it wasn’t as cool in there as we expected. My picture didn’t come out either. My dad said it was because the guy in front of us raised and blocked me. I’ve since had other issues so it could be a larger tech problem. 

Then, we decided we were done with Epcot so we took the monorail to the TTC. We planned to try and tour the Grand Floridian DVC villas since I’ve never seen them. For some now forgotten reason we got off at the TTC and decided to walk to the Grand.

Things started going downhill during this walk. We had to stop part way through the Poly because I didn’t feel good. I was feeling a bit confused. I was definitely overheated and in retrospect probably approaching heatstroke. I thought I was taking care of myself, but I guess not. I think it may have been an electrolyte issue, because when I added a Powerade everyday I felt better.

Once we got to the Great Ceremonial House, we sait in the lobby for about 30 minutes so I could rest and drink some water. Dad kept saying we could just go back to our room. I really wanted to get to Magic Kingdom tonight to watch Happily Ever After.

I started to feel better so we continued on to the Grand Floridian. We wanted a few minutes for a guide and then toured a two and three bedroom villa.

Up Next: Final Happily Ever After

Trip Report: Riviera Room Tours (Day 3, Part 1 | January 2021)

 Tuesday, January 26th

I woke up pretty early today-around 7 AM. Since I had a good amount of time before we needed to leave, so I curled my hair. This morning we had reservations at Topolino’s Terrace at 9:50 AM. That meant we had to get to the Riviera. We decided to take a bus to Animal Kingdom then another one to Riviera. The bus we took ended up being the same so we got off and back on. This is actually the second time this has happened to me when going to Animal Kingdom to then go to a resort.

My parents talked to the DVC guide about getting a room tour. Dad and I saw them in November but we wanted my stepmom to see them. I ran into the gift shop to buy the Riviera ears. I regretted not getting them on my last trip. The guide took us on a tour right away because of our reservations.

These rooms are gorgeous. I’m just in love with the Riviera. My parents thought very seriously about buying, but ultimately decided they’d rather save the money for other things like cruises. That’s probably a good financial decision, but I want to own there. And I’ll inherit their contracts someday.

Up Next: Topolino’s Terrace

Trip Report: DVC & Free FastPasses (10/18)

If you missed the last update, you can check it out here.

Today we had a DVC meeting and tour over at Cooper Creek. A driver was picking me up at my hotel at 10:10 AM. So, I was up a little after 8 and took a shower.

I was a little numerous because interacting with strangers stresses me out.

I got around slowly, ate a bagel, and was off to my pick-up location. I was about 20 minutes early, but that's fine.

The gentleman picked me up a little after 10 and then we were off to pick up my parents at Bay Lake Tower. Then, he took us to Wilderness Lodge.

While we waited for the town to start, I found some great pins and put two.

Our guide was named Niko and he was from Greece. He was a fast talker like me. He was also very helpful. He showed us a Cooper Creek studio and one-bedroom. He also kept calling things bananas which was funny.

The rooms were nice and had a good amount of storage, but they aren't really my style. It was nice to check them out especially since we got three free FastPasses each out of the tour.

When we were done, Disney had a driver take us to Epcot. We rode with another couple who were also already DVC owners looking to expand. I think DVC may be an addiction. So, are annual passes.

Up next: A Breezy Lunch

So You Want to Go to Disney World Part II

Where to Stay

The first part of this series can be found here.

Where to stay when you go to Disney World can be an intimdating decision. There are a ton of options.

First, you have to decide if your going to stay onsite or offsite. I've only ever stayed onsite so that's all I can speak to. But I know a lot of people stay offisite at hotels or vacation homes and love it.

Before I go into the Disney hotel options, I want to explain why I like to stay onsite.

1) You can make FastPass+ reservations at 60 days (versus 30 for offiste)

2) Free transfers to the hotel from MCO with Magical Express

3) Extra time in the parks with morning and evening Extra Magic Hours

4) You don't have to leave the Disney bubble 

5) You don't have to drive if you don't want to

If you decide to stay at a Disney hotel you then have to decide which one. There are 32 resorts (according to Disney) and they are divided into four categories. I haven't stayed at every hotel, but I have stayed at all the different levels.

The two main deciding factors are budget and style. Design and style are very personal. So, I highly suggest checking out the Disboards/WDWInfo, Touring Plans, AllEars, and YouTube videos for detailed descriptions, pictures, and reviews.

The first tier is Value. These are the least expensive resorts. You can find current pricing on the Disney World website. these hotels are the ones with the smallest rooms. The rooms are also the most plain-generally. The overall themes also tend to be really dramatic and over-the-top.

These are the value hotels:

Pop Century

 

All-Star Music

 

All-Star Movies

All-Star Sports

Art of Animation

Fort Wilderness Campsites

The second tier is moderate. My family often stayed in these resorts when I was younger. But we are a family of five so we eventually grew out of them. The moderate resorts have bigger beds than the values and slightly larger rooms. The resorts also tend to be more spread out than a lot of the others. While my favorite resort is a Deluxe, I owuld love to stay at Port Orleans Riverside every visit. You can find current pricing on the Disney website.

These are the moderate hotels:

Caribbean Beach

Port Orleans Riverside

Port Orleans French Quarter

Coronado Springs

Fort Wilderness Cabins

Next, are the Deluxe resorts. These are the most expensive and lavish resorts. They have the biggest room size for a stard room and will typically sleep a family of five instead of four. All the Disney hotels are well-themed, but there's something particularly refined about these ones. A lot of the Deluxe resorts also have transportation options that aren't busses like the monorail and boats. They also have some of the best pools and kids'splash areas. You can find current pricing on the Disney website.

These are the Deluxe hotels:

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Polynesian

Grand Floridian

Wilderness Lodge

Beach Club

Contemporary 

Yacht Club

Boardwalk

The last set of hotels are the Villas/DVC/Home away from Home. So, being a Disney Vacation Club member is a completely different thing. These resorts come in studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom grand villas. The studios are similar to a traditional hotel room, but have a kitchenette. The other room options have a full kitchen and laundry. For the most part, these "hotels" are attached to the existing Deluxe resorts. 

You can pay cash for these rooms direct from Disney. You can find prices on the Disney World website. But you can also rent DVC points form existing vacation club members. This will often save you money but you have to rely on the person you are renting from. We have never rented points since my parents are DVC members, but people seems to like it. I would just suggesting doing a ton of researching before committing.

These are the DVC resorts:

Saratoga Springs

Old Key West

Polynesian Villas and Bungalows

Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary

Grand Floridian Villas

Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani and Jambo House

Boardwalk Villas

Beach Club Villas

Wilderness Lodge Villas-Copper Creek and Boulder Creek

So, those are your hotel options if you want to stay onsite. You really can't go wrong. Lately, I've been staying at the All-Stars because that's what I can afford and I'm happy with that.

If you have any hotel recommendations let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Holly