Not an Owner and Confused

Hi Disney Mom. Yes this can be a rabbit hole!

But, a good place to start is DVC Fan's YouTube channel. They have alot of great videos, but I am thinking about a more recent one called "Resale Restrictions Explained", and there's also one called "Member Perks 101".

Essentially Direct members have access to the Member lounges, they are able to attend Moonlight Magic parties (with the diffcult task of obtaining tickets), and they get the DVC member discount where applicable.

Resale members don't get any perks, but they save a boat load of money on their intial purchase.

Direct and Resale all use the same booking website, and pay the same dues per point (depending on home resort).

There are resale restrictions put in place for any resort that has opened since Riviera Resort in 2019. (including Villas at Disneyland Hotel and Cabins at Fort Wilderness).

These restrictions come into play, on two senarios:

1) If you decide to sell that contract - those points can only be used at the home resort they are tied to. (Home Resort)

In other words: Riviera points are only good at Riviera for the future buyer.

2) These newer resorts can't be booked with resale points. For example, we have a Saratoga Springs resale contract.

We cannot book Riviera, Disneyland Holel or FW cabins with these resale points at the 7 month booking window.

Hope this helps. It's really only scratching the surface I think!

Good luck.

That is exactly the information I needed. Answered in just an hour! Thank you for the info and I will make sure to check out those videos.

I'll just add my 2 cents. Not sure how long term you realistically plan to have the contract. We were younger (low 30s) when we bought and decided to go direct.

a) We wanted Riviera without the restrictions

b) We plan to keep the contract and after 2042, not sure how limited options will be for resale members.

Another difference between resale and direct is the ability to buy the Sorcerer Pass annual pass for WDW. It's a cheaper annual pass that only Florida residents and qualifying DVC members (direct) can purchase. It's a good savings if annual passes were something you would be looking to get.

The Sorcerer pass and the options to use the points anywhere were the deciding factor in our direct purchase. We are hybrid with one direct contract and one resale.

on the most basic level...

If you buy Riviera, Cabins, or Disneyland Hotel resale you can only use your points at that one resort. Riviera points at Riviera for example..

If you buy any of the other resorts, you can exchange them amongst each other - but you cannot use them to stay at Riviera, Cabins, or Disneyland Hotel...

You need 150 points from Disney Direct to be eligible for DVC Discounts and Lounges.

Only points bought from Disney can be used for Disney Cruises, Worldwide Disney Hotels (Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong, etc.), and "normal hotel rooms" (ex. Port Orleans) . I would not recommend anyone use their points this way 95% of the time.

Doing the math on the discounts - for many people resale is still the cheaper option. But if you want to stay at any DVC resort ever - you need at least some direct points.

The other thing is - you can start with a resale membership - pick your UY, and then be able to add on direct with current owner incentives. New member buy in direct minimum is 100 points, but resale minimum buy in is however small the contract you want is - typically 25 points.

If I buy into DVC I would definitely get an annual pass. It makes planning and budgeting easier and I feel like I would be able to get more use out of my DVC by having the flexibility of not having to add on tickets prices. I also live in the PNW and multi-day tickets with park hopping for one trip can be close to that DVC annual pass.

I live in Oregon! If the annual pass is part of your plan, buying Direct points will allow you to get the Sorcerer Pass ($1099 + tax) instead of the Incredi-pass ($1629 + tax). Ignoring tax, that is over a $500 difference per person each year. So, being direct can be very compelling for that reason.

However, buying resale offers savings upfront in getting a contract for a lower cost.

Which resorts are you most interested in for a DVC purchase?

If I were to buy this year I would more than likely go with the Poly, which honestly before staying there I didn't think I would say that. I love the EPCOT area resorts but I am thinking timing is everything with all the movement with restrictions and end of contract years (forgot correct name). I love a great themed hotel, it has a long time before deed expires, and I kind of want to see what Disney does or does not do with their restrictions from Riviera on. Those restrictions are a hard no for me right now on buying those resorts, but that can change as the years go on. TBH my first choice would have been VDH but that transient tax is an absolute killer. I want to walk away from no bill post stay using DVC points.

If you are considering Poly, I'd say buying direct is the way to go if you are able. The cost difference between resale Poly and direct Poly isn't that much. Run the numbers and see-- and remember that there are several incentive discounts for direct purchases that rotate every couple months. With buying direct, you gain the ability use your points at VDH and buy the WDW Sorcerer Pass that you mentioned being interested in. I debated hard between VDH and Poly direct too and for me, Poly was the better choice because of lower annual dues, no TOT tax, and our preference for WDW. I still want to buy a small contract for VDH, but honestly, so far I've had good luck getting rooms at VDH with my Poly contract points or if I couldn't get a reservation, I'd just stay on Harbor Blvd.

Ok that was another question I had since I am not a member and cannot actively look at the availability chart. If I bought at the Poly would there be any availability at the VDH at the 7 month mark. It is great to hear that you haven't had too much difficulty in booking.

I have used my direct points to stay at VDH at the 7-month mark, but it is no guarantee. This is particularly true during more popular time periods. Here is the current availability for a deluxe studio - preferred view. You could currently book the weekend of 12/12+, which is encouraging, but there is no availability prior to what is shown below.