Thinking of buying DVC - Any advice?

We have been owners for18 years and never regretted it. It would have been better if we had known about resale but we didn't so we move on...we have had some of our best family memories (including engagements) there. Every time we think of selling we go back and only want more points. We own marriott, also. At the time we bought Disney Disney said they were never going to build more resorts.....HA!

DVC (direct) was our first timeshare! We purchased 400 points direct right after Bay Lake Tower opened for sale. What we paid direct is actually about the same as what resales go for still to this day, so for us direct was the way to go to retain all of the direct benefits.

Today, it's a much different picture. BLT resales are going for $95 a point average but direct from Disney I think it's the same price, or almost, as VGF, and you have to get on a waitlist and hope a contract you want gets snatched back through ROFR or foreclosure.

If I were looking at buying DVC right now, I would buy resale. Every time. You can't go wrong with any of the resort, but these would be my top choices, with my reasoning.

Bay Lake Tower: This is the most affordable Monorail resort. The prices only stand to go up after the Poly comes online. It's a bargain at $95 dollars a point compared to VGF at $165 right now and whatever Poly will be when it becomes available. And after that, there aren't any more monorail resorts to add on to. So, I see this one retaining its value for a long time. The MFs are also the lowest in the system. That could change, but for now it's very reasonable.

Animal Kingdom Villas would be my second choice, and here's why: The value rooms represent one of the absolute best bargains for your DVC points and they go fast. You need to own points here and book at 11 months. Also, the club level rooms are pretty special in the DVC system with their concierge access and they go fast too.

Saratoga Springs Resort would be my #3: It's a lovely resort, but pretty far away from everything. The reason this one is so popular is because there's a great balance between lowish purchase price and reasonable MFs. Most people who own here don't stay here. It's pretty easy to get into basically any other resort at the 7 month window using your SSR points, during low to moderate seasons. High seasons are a different story, and if you MUST travel during school breaks (Spring break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas break) then you need to own at the resort you want to stay at. Otherwise, you'll have great luck using your SSR points wherever you want to stay. Even during the summer (non holiday weeks).

Other people would have a different top 3 list for different reasons. For example, if you wanted to be near EPCOT during the food and wine festival, you'd want to buy at Beach Club or Boardwalk. If you wanted to be at Wilderness Lodge during christmas, you'd want to own there. Same thing with Grand Floridian at Christmas. Old Key West has it's own super-fans too, because the rooms are the largest in the system. But this gives you and idea!

Also, I'd like to add that we added a bunch of Wyndham points to our portfolio about 18 months ago (thanks to the great advice here on TUG!) We've been very, very very happy with them and have traded into DVC through RCI twice! We rented out our DVC points and paid all of our MFs for both properties. So, after you get your feet wet with DVC, you might consider a cheap resale at a resort that trades through RCI to have access to additional time you may not have gotten through DVC directly. Just one other perspective!

I've always wanted to own but have been lucky to trade in with my Wyndham in the last few years. Although I am definately getting leftover inventory. Other than that I've either rented points our waited for off-season deals at Disney. I just can't afford the price of the points. If I could, I'd snap up some resale points in a minute.

OP: I think your situation is quite different than most of the "I love my DVC" responses you have received.

You already own a quality timeshare which gives you dozens of options in dozens of locations...including WDW. That's a world of difference from only owning DVC and a huge benefit.

In your particular case, adding a small DVC resale contract might make a lot of sense. In addition to being able to spend a few days onsite, you currently would be able to save about $160 per person on your annual passes. Remember that discount is a perk that could go away at any time, but right now it's a good deal for families outside of Florida.

I would seriously research resale, including both the acquisition costs and annual "dues" (Mousespeak for MFs). A direct purchase just entails ridiculous pricing and the "benefits" you get for buying direct aren't worth having. Those direct "benefits" are also perks which could go away at any time.

Also, if you are "casual, laid-back" folks, take a close look at OKW and SSR. Both have lower annual dues and lower acquisition costs than the monorail resorts, and both are very laid back and relaxing with parking right at your door. OKW is our favorite DVC resort and the villas there are huge.

You might also want to try renting a couple of 3-4 night stays in various resorts. You can get pretty reasonable rentals from DVC owners on the DIS DVC Rent/Trade board or through brokers like David's.

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I just want to reiterate that you CAN NOT walk from Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom. There is a path between the Polynesian and Grand Floridian but you can't walk all the way to Magic Kingdom on it. There is no bridge over the canal area. (Only the monorail goes over it). Even if you could, it would be a much longer walk than from Contemporary to Magic Kingdom.

I have been an owner at Boardwalk since 1999 and no regrets! It has given me the opportunity to travel, including a stay at Aulani last year, and treat family and friends to wonderful vacations. There are more specific boards related to DVC as mentioned and do try to buy resale!

My advice with DVC is buy where you'd like to stay. You have flexibility but if all else fails where can you tolerate being.

I've been a DVC owner since '07 and my only regret is not buying sooner. We've been completely happy with our purchased and have pretty much gotten into every resort we wanted to, even harder ones like Hilton Head during Spring Break and Grand California at Disneyland twice. We own at Animal Kingdom Lodge but have only stayed there twice since purchasing. Aulani is our favorite of the properties.

The Disney price has increased tremendously over the last few years, almost 50% since we purchased. We do plan on adding onto our DVC membership in the future because we really like the quality of the product. I would go the resale route next time. There is better value going that way and I exclusively use our points at DVC. We booked a cruise once, but have realized it isn't a good value or use of points to go outside the DVC properties with points. You are better to rent your points and vacation with the cash. So there is little impact in my opinion on resale benefits compared to buying directly.

Last year we were deciding between adding points to Disney or diversifying with another product and ultimately decided on buying into Marriott. I used to be a very frequent traveler and Marriott is a brand I trust. I like their points system and find it very similar to DVC.....still unsure of all the nuances but that's ok, it will come with time. Our plan is to alternate our vacations between MVC and DVC every other year to double our point "buying" power in each system.

In my opinion (MVC Lmited) both are quality products, but are different (not better) from each other.