How much did your current age play into your DVC purchase decision making?

[AvidDisReader]

Age was the deciding factor with my wife and I. We had been looking into DVC since OKW first opened. For years we debated, but it always came down to money. So when my mother passed, she did not have a lot but there was just enough to buy BLT (this was 2009). The plan was to use the money to pay down our HELOC, but my wife said it is your inheritance, but if we do not buy now than we will never be in situation that we will be able to afford (we were in our mid 50's). After debating with myself for several days, I realized she was correct--we both so loved going to Disney and our kids were just beginning to grant us grandkids. So we pulled the trigger.

 

[kanerf]

You know, these days DVC is really acting like an investment. What you bought 10 years ago can really be sold today for 50-60% more than what you paid for it, if not more.

 

[RamblinWreck]

You know, these days DVC is really acting like an investment. What you bought 10 years ago can really be sold today for 50-60% more than what you paid for it, if not more.

It really is crazy!

Not that it would have ended up being a fantastic return compared to investing in the S&P 500 and not traveling to Disney World, but it worked out well enough that someone who bought in 10 years ago and sold today would have realized a net profit off of staying at these resorts (before you factor in all the money they most likely spent on park tickets, food, and airfare, of course).

But still, pretty crazy!

 

[MICKIMINI]

In 1996 we just knew we couldn't stand staying at a value and bought OKW. We were in our mid 30's...now our son is in his mid 30's and married to a Disney girl. DVC has aged well with us and was everything we envisioned for the future.

We had friends and family stay with us in GV's when our son was young. When our son and DIL are with us now we are in the 1 BR and we get them a separate studio nearby as with other friends who may join us. Our son and DIL are on our direct deed so we all have AP's. We love the variety of locations and villa choices and have stayed at most resorts. We often do split stays for a total of 12-14 nights.

DVC is one of the best decisions we ever made and will be our snowbird destination in a few years aging from our 30's to 60's (so far!)

 

[CSLucas]

We are 33 and 35 and age definitely factored into our decision (VGF). We don't intend to hold our DVC more than 10 years and we wanted to be able to sell it without worrying about loss in value due to a fast-approaching expiration date.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Age didn't really factor in but timing did. We had always kind of eyed DVC but weren't really sold on it, then VGF came out. We had suffered a miscarriage with our first and weren't having any luck getting pregnant again, so decided to treat ourselves and spend a ton of money for a resort we'd always wanted to stay at.

Two weeks after we closed I found out I was pregnant! So then we panicked that we had spent so much money but welp. Two kids later and we're definitely making good use of it.

 

[beamreach]

We recently purchased our first contract from DVC after considering it for a while, and we are very happy so far. We purchased direct at Riviera (and I'll explain my reasoning), but I see so many people purchasing resale and at some of the 2042 and other resorts and just had an intellectual curiosity about what affected others' decision to purchase where and how and why.

I will preface this with I tend to be the exception to rule on a lot of things when it comes to what popular opinion is.

DW and I are both 33 (hoping for kids in the next couple years) and look at this as wanting to get the most use out of our vacations. I'm hoping I'm still alive, don't have alzheimer's and can get around at 83. We were originally going to go with Boardwalk, I had written off Riviera after looking it up online because (after seeing it in person) I think the Disney site does a horrible job at showcasing that resort online. Once it was clarified that the expiration isn't 50 years from your purchase date but 50 years from the original offering date that took Boardwalk totally out of my equation, and we immediately hopped on the skyliner to tour Riviera. We took a small trip down because we live 2 hours away and I wanted to talk to someone in person. We visited and actually toured Riviera and loved it and the location so with having 48 years left on the contract that heavily weighed into our decision making. I know there are some other resorts close to that, as well.

As for buying direct, it was all about my best guess that Disney will continue to impose resale restrictions at anywhere new built over the next 48 years, because I've never seen a company get less restrictive or cheaper. We want to experience anywhere new so that made direct our only option without having to keep buying new contracts anytime a resort opens.

All of that to say being 33 (without kids yet) played HUGE factor into where and bought and why. Whereas if I was in my late 50's boardwalk resale might have been what I went with.

More of just a discussion on an intellectual level.

P.S. Not trying to start a giant fight speculating over what Disney will do with future resorts, lol.

Short answer is we bought buy where we stay. We have both BCV (plan to use for summer trips with my kiddos) and BVW (plan to use for weekend getaways sans kids), because we like to walk to EPCOT or HS and don't want to rely on the Skyliner (which is unreliable) or boats (can be a wait and sometimes packed). We also have VGF for winter holidays with family as well as MK-focused trips with my daughters. Any of these resorts are very difficult to get without home resort priority for most desirable times. We thought of Riveria just because it's new, but we didn't love the location and the severe resale restrictions...however, we do love the Topolinos character breakfast (and dinner), but on those days we can either drive over or take the Skyliner. For us, was more of a convenience-based decision, without too much consideration for expirations or age...

 

[Straulin]

I analyzed for a long while weighing various pros and cons and doing a lot of math. We ended up deciding on BCV for a resale which is currently under ROFR. If that doesn't go through, we may go with BWV based upon what contracts we find. We were a toss up between them.

Our age was a big factor. We are in our mid 40's and will be mid-sixties by the time the contract ends. We doubt we will be wanting to do that many Disney trips by that time and love walking to Epcot. (Also, mortality came into play more for us than most folks probably as DW and I have lost 3 out of our 4 parents all around the age we will be when the contract is up.)

Another factor that the 2042 hotels bring is the points per stay are lower than the new hotels generally. Compare Beachclub and Boardwalk to Poly and VGF. The number of points needed are so much lower for the 2042 resorts.

 

[disneyfan123]

Always wanted to buy into DVC but couldn’t justify it financially, especially as rental prices 10 years ago were around $11 per point and we only went every 2-3 years. The I hit 40 as said screw it you only live once and bought a resale contract a year later (last summer) as rental costs (along with purchase costs) have jumped substantially. Just added on at VGF2 and couldn’t be happier. Can’t wait to get back and try out our new home resort. Age definitely played a factor!

 

[alohatok1986]

My husband and I are in our mid 30s and our three kids are between 3 and 8 years old. We love AK for both the atmosphere & the room variety, the fact that it has kind of the mid-range as far as expiration years go was a bonus. That'll get us 35 years, we're not buying this to resell. If anything, I'd like to add on later (direct), perhaps the poly2 if it is in fact a separate entity...

 

[automaticsoap]

I bought my first contract resale in 2013, a small 50 point BWV, when I was 26. At the time, the expiration date didn't matter to me as it seemed soooo far away. I also added on that year when VGF first went on sale. Fast forward to 2020 in my early 30s, I decided to sell my BWV contract. My first 7 years with it went by fast, and I decided I wanted a larger contract with a longer expiration date. Being in mid-30s now, I won't buy any contracts with a 2042 contract. 20 years compared with 35+ is too big a difference for me, and even if an extension is offered in the future, the point cost for the 2042 resorts I'd be interested in (BWV/BCV) is already higher than the newer resort contracts I'd buy (AKV).

 

[Suzabella]

It did play into it for us. We toured DVC when our kids were still in Jr High/HS and then toured Marriott also. We went with Marriott because the 2042 really bothered us. Marriott is deeded in perpetuity so we have 2 that will go to kids some day.

Fast forward to only 1 child left at home and all of a sudden 2042 wasn't as important. We bought DVC for us knowing by 2042 we won't be able to do the parks like we do today. We have added 300 points including points at the resort we toured all those years ago.

Now it's just us and we still enjoy our DVC trips although with the increasing prices at Disney, those trips will likely be resort only and less park time. We still love our home resorts but I could see our WDW trips having an expiration date. The crowds have gotten so much bigger and the prices so much higher that we are close to a tipping point of deciding to spend our vacation $ someplace else. DH is already there.

Our vacation travel has changed over the years and the 2042 expiration just isn't an issue like it once was.

 

[Huskerpaul]

We just passed ROFR on a Boardwalk contract, which will be our first. We did our first visit to WDW last December and had a blast. We are west coast folks and I grew up going to Disneyland every year, so deep Disney roots. We stayed at Boardwalk and Poly on our trip and my wife fell in love with Boardwalk and EPCOT. I'm 58 and she is 52 with no kids, so the 20 year end date works fine for us. And I doubt I convince my wife to buy without dangling the Boardwalk as our home resort.