should I sell my DVC--will I regret it?

[ljmiii]

I suspect they have something sneaky up their sleeves for Riviera. It makes no sense to limit resale of the new parks to only one resort...

It makes perfect sense if you are DVC. Not so much for an informed buyer.

It saddens me...but DVC appears to be learning lessons from other timeshare companies. For example, Marriott Vacation Club figured out that building new resorts and then trying to sell weeks in them is actually rather expensive. A much better business is to buy up resale contracts very cheaply and then resell those timeshare weeks as expensive Vacation Club points (or 'enrolled' weeks). But to do this you need resale contracts to be cheap - which Marriott did by only allowing direct weeks to be enrolled and which DVC is doing by only allowing direct Riviera points to be used at the original 14 resorts.

He said Riviera may have 2 person studios that are smaller than deluxe studios yet he said Riviera is going to be very upscale...

I do think there is a market - a substantial market - of empty nesters who at most want a continental breakfast and a nice comfy bed in their rooms.

 

[ljmiii]

I think upscale at Riviera will be seen in the finishes and amenities e.g. VGF vs. BWV — ginormous stainless steel French door fridge vs. smaller top-freezer white fridge, fancy tile work in bathroom, rooftop restaurant, etc.

I expect so as well.

I also am still not convinced that resale buyers there won’t be able to trade out, because as direct buyers are replaced by resale buyers who can’t trade out, then how am I going to be able to trade in?

MVCI faced the same issue after five years and responded to it by having (thus far) annual 'amnesties' whereby anyone who made a substantial new purchase of DPs could enroll their 'broken' weeks. I could easily see DVC doing the same thing with Riviera resale buyers - offering to 'direct-ize' their old points if they buy direct contract of equal (or greater) value.

 

[TheHolleys87]

I expect so as well.

MVCI faced the same issue after five years and responded to it by having (thus far) annual 'amnesties' whereby anyone who made a substantial new purchase of DPs could enroll their 'broken' weeks. I could easily see DVC doing the same thing with Riviera resale buyers - offering to 'direct-ize' their old points if they buy direct contract of equal (or greater) value.

Yes, I’ve seen that suggested elsewhere too. I agree that DVD has learned some lessons from the other timeshare companies and is now ready to implement them. I’m happy that we’re not going to be in the market for more points (hoping to live as long as our BWV points do) but if Riviera does have 2-person studios (with king bed?) I definitely want to stay there once. If the points chart allows it!

 

[Dean]

I did not mean sneaky in a negative way. I should have used the word surprising. The restrictions do not make sense to me for the new resorts. Unless Riviera and the others are great, I would not want to buy into them since it would be an instant devaluation. But maybe DVC will surprise us with something that makes Riviera, Reflections and other new resorts highly desirable. I am wondering if they are going to introduce some surprising new rules for DVC2 that will make the new system less comparable to the old system and still very attractive to buyers.

I think many overestimate the level of education of new buyers and the live of forethought they have about exit options. Most don't think about it most don't plan ahead and most don't care at the time of the purchase. DVD doesn't make much money on a ROFR purchase unless it's a fire sale. They actually make more on new sales but the ROFR gives them other resorts to sell and pushes many to retail instead of resale.

 

[TravelTime]

I suspect a 2 person studio would be between 250-300 sf, more like a standard hotel room. I think their deluxe studios are generally under 400 sf with a few exceptions, like Poly. I found the Poly deluxe studio to be a decent size for 2 people because it still had a “living room” area and it had the second bathroom. Obviously, couples will not need an extra bathroom. But the living room area and big terraces at Poly are important even for 2 people.

 

[TheHolleys87]

A suspect a 2 person studio would be between 250-300 sf, more like a standard hotel room. I think their deluxe studios are generally under 400 sf with a few exceptions, like Poly. I found the Poly deluxe studio to be a decent size for 2 people because it still had a “living room” area and it had the second bathroom. Obviously, couples will not need an extra bathroom. But the living room area and big terraces at Poly are important even for 2 people.

DH and I liked the Poly for the two of us. We especially liked having our own bathroom vanities (spoiled by double sinks at home) so if the Riviera has a king bed, double vanity and a sitting area of some kind (a small couch that does not fold out or two comfortable chairs) we'll be eager to swap in for two to three nights. But for longer stays, give us a one bedroom with full kitchen and laundry, please. (I don't expect to be able to afford that at Riviera, but time will tell.)

 

[ljmiii]

He said DVC is raising prices on Jan 16 on the 14 parks with another big price hike for the most popular resorts. Up to $260 for Grand Cal and $245 for Grand Floridian....

I've been thinking about VGC for a while. And after thinking about it some more...and about the DVC resale changes...and the pending price increase...and thinking about it some more...I am now 'in contract' on a smallish VGC contract. YOLO...and the last time I visited Disneyland I HATED parking forever away, trekking through Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel, and then having to drive back to our hotel room in the wee hours. Now I just hope it passes ROFR!

 

[TravelTime]

I've been thinking about VGC for a while. And after thinking about it some more...and about the DVC resale changes...and the pending price increase...and thinking about it some more...I am now 'in contract' on a smallish VGC contract. YOLO...and the last time I visited Disneyland I HATED parking forever away, trekking through Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel, and then having to drive back to our hotel room in the wee hours. Now I just hope it passes ROFR!

I think no matter what happens, Grand Cal will be safe. Even if they ever limited park usage to home resorts, I think Grand Cal will be golden. The people in California are so competitive, prices for everything are always high here, the number of DVC rooms is very limited at Grand Cal and the MFs are actually lower than average for DVC. I am not saying that there might not be times when Grand Cal declines in price but the California economy is so incredibly inflated due to our cost of living that even $260 a point will not make people here blink too much. In fact, if they ever limited park usage to home resorts, I think demand for Grand Cal would go up since only the few of us who own there could stay there. If DVC is able to add rooms in California, they will be snapped up immediately and they probably would not be as conveniently located. Grand Cal is also a great home base to visit all of SoCal, not just Disneyland. It is probably one of the nicer resorts in So Cal in terms of quality and size of accommodations. There are many hotels around Disneyland but Grand Cal is different and much nicer. At one point, Anaheim was really run down but they are fixing it up.

 

[lovetotravel77]

I went through a period of time when our boys were in college that we contemplated selling. Then my husband and I started taking more DVC trips as "semi empty nesters", Food and Wine, early December to enjoy the holiday decorations. Now so happy that we didn't sell. Looking forward to one day taking hopefully future grandchildren.

 

[TravelTime]

I went through a period of time when our boys were in college that we contemplated selling. Then my husband and I started taking more DVC trips as "semi empty nesters", Food and Wine, early December to enjoy the holiday decorations. Now so happy that we didn't sell. Looking forward to one day taking hopefully future grandchildren.

I agree. I bought our DVC points for some children we were approved to adopt. At the last minute, we were not approved so I was ready to sell the points but something told me to wait. Then we took an adult only trip to WDW and I fell in love with Animal Kingdom. Then we went to Aulani and I fell in love with Aulani. So we are keeping our points for awhile longer, at least until we get tired of visiting as adults. We have another trip planned for WDW in May and to Aulani in December. If those are as fun as our last trips, we will keep our points. If not, I will sell. I realized what I most enjoy about Disney is how it transports me back to my childhood and keeps me feeling young at heart. At Disney, my motto is 50 is the new 5! LOL

 

[lovetotravel77]

I agree. I bought our DVC points for some children we were approved to adopt. At the last minute, we were not approved so I was ready to sell the points but something told me to wait. Then we took an adult only trip to WDW and I fell in love with Animal Kingdom. Then we went to Aulani and I fell in love with Aulani. So we are keeping our points for awhile longer, at least until we get tired of visiting as adults. We have another trip planned for WDW in May and to Aulani in December. If those are as fun as our last trips, we will keep our points. If not, I will sell. I realized what I most enjoy about Disney is how it transports me back to my childhood and keeps me feeling young at heart. At Disney, my motto is 50 is the new 5! LOL

Aulani is gorgeous! We were there only once, four years ago, but it was such a memorable trip! I wanted to take a trip, my husband, and 2 sons since I knew that our older son was going to become engaged and wanted this to be a special trip for the four of us. So glad that we had that special time together in such a gorgeous place! Totally agree, I always say that I feel so much like a kid at Disney!

 

[lovetotravel77]

I suspect a 2 person studio would be between 250-300 sf, more like a standard hotel room. I think their deluxe studios are generally under 400 sf with a few exceptions, like Poly. I found the Poly deluxe studio to be a decent size for 2 people because it still had a “living room” area and it had the second bathroom. Obviously, couples will not need an extra bathroom. But the living room area and big terraces at Poly are important even for 2 people.

LOVE the design of the Poly with the second bathroom. Even for couples, love having two bathrooms, have stayed there a few times. Love the Oasis more quiet pool and the gorgeous Lava pool!