Which Disney Vacation Club Resort to Buy in 2023

In today's video we discuss which resort is the best choice for a direct Disney Vacation Club purchase in 2023. We explore each of the four currently featured DVC properties: the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Riviera Resort and Aulani.
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[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Whic if these would you choose and why?

[@kristimathews9074]

I love your content! I started following your channel because I’m considering buying DVC. The number crunching videos showing the value are my favorite!!!

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Thank you for that feedback. Best of luck on your DVC journey. Be sure to let me know if/when you decide to purchase. Thanks for watching!

[@tutuluvsminnie7129]

This video was useful in explaining what resorts are selling direct nowadays. I have purchased both direct contracts and resale contracts. i like being a "blue card" DVC member but i also like getting points at my favorite sold out resorts. We like to add extra magic in our vacations by staying at different resorts, and i love the 11 month reservation window. We vacation the same week every year and a week at Vero or HH too.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

We're the same. We like to have several different options and several home resorts. Why choose your favorite when you can have them all, right?! 😊

[@mdm8832]

We just bought at Grand Floridian this week - the current direct pricing is just too tempting. Thanks for all your videos...they were really helpful and gave me the confidence to make this admittedly very expensive purchase! Now I need to book our first Welcome Home trip!

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Congrats! 🍾🎉 I think GF is a great choice!

[@mickeysmyspiritanimal223]

Yay’ it’s Jenn! 🎉🥳 Great video! Wow! It seems that you are now “connected” with your affiliate links to The World of DVC and their family of products! 🤔 So, it seems that your info shall be in sync solely with their information. Congratulations! 🍾🎉

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

I’m currently only doing affiliate links, not sponsored videos. It leaves me free to mention companies when it fits with my content, but also speak freely about DVC in general. I wouldn’t have agreed to work with any company that I felt would interfere with my ability to provide valuable educational content about DVC or turn my videos into commercials. I’m here first and foremost to meet the needs of viewers. Thanks for watching! Best wishes!

[@DearestMina]

Love your content as always! Would love to see a video in the future on the best way to balance direct and resell contracts to coordinate bookings. For example if I wanted to use home priority with my direct but want to use points from my resell contract to transfer I know that the points from resell need to be at 7 month window vs 11month. So whats the best way to balance this? e.g. Have a direct contract in December and the resell contract from September? So that would mean the resell contract would be within the 7 months but I booked with my direct for 11 month advantage? Or does transferring points automatically make the direct at 7month?

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Hey, thanks so much for the suggestion. We have all of our contracts on one use year, so I don't have to coordinate different use years. Let me think about how I would show that. Hmm....

[@user-eh4yr9fw2c]

Thanks Jen, we're looking for our first dvc contract and your content has been very informative. We're torn between the pricey option of a Riviera direct (wouldn't buy this one resale due to restrictions) and another resort on resale. We're finding it difficult to justify such high costs buying direct, but don't want to regret a resale option later on. Either way we cant wait to get back😁

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

That's a tough decision. We own points at Riviera because we knew we would need them to book standard view studios, but we didn't buy a large contract there because of the resale restrictions. If you're looking to buy more than 150 points, I'd definitely consider splitting it up between resale and direct. If you're thinking of buying direct, it really makes sense to get the 150 for member benefits.

[@user-eh4yr9fw2c]

That makes sense. We live in England and generally get to wdw every other year, so 150-200 points would suffice (depending on the resort). I think we'll end up with Riviera direct, very clever of disney to set the benefits and restrictions as they have, as I'm usually a bargain hunter

[@Christina-hw3du]

I’m considering DHV, but need to persuade hubby. Do you think this is the cheapest it will be for new members? Is there any other discounts that could be applied?

[@cyclechickmary]

That was a great video! So as a newer Aulani owner, and an “East Coaster” our reasoning for purchasing there was this: one trip to Aulani would cost about 1/2 of a contract. Why not get the contract and go back every few years, or use those points somewhere else? Finding a one bedroom at the 7 month mark is easier than a studio (usually) so I think we won’t have any issues using those points elsewhere. That being said, we do in fact have 2 other contracts at WDW resorts.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

We haven't tried to book at Aulani yet, but it's good to know that we should probably budget for a 1 bedroom when we do. I'm so glad you're having a great time there!

[@dobermangroundzero82]

I’m west coast own 350 in aulani 100 direct from Disney since 2018 and 300 at animal kingdom. Very nice and I even rent points to throw at annual dues

[@whatwherethere]

Bought in 2014 on the resale market. Ends in 2042. Can’t image buying again but the magic has dimmed for me. That said, we have saved lots relative to booking the same hotel. However, there are lots of great resorts near Disney that would be even less expensive. Disney is going to get their money if you want that corporate magic.

[@trentporter4234]

I am in the research phase and learning As much as I can about Disney vacation club resale and direct. I have been to Disney with my family or just me and my wife probably Approximately 15 times. We go down for Sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 10 days, and sometimes quick weekends. We went down just to ride the skyliner. I've looked this past and never really thought twice. So far, my biggest question is, I would like someone to name drop Some really good DVC guides. I don't want to get stuck with a guide that is not fantastic. I primarily have been looking at resale. But I'm tortured over the idea of not being a blue card member. We are going on a Disney cruise in September. And I'm debating making my purchase on the cruise. I'm thinking the incentives on a cruise would be pretty decent. Also I like Jen's idea of buying smaller contracts. Even having to pay the closing costs. I'm wondering if it would make sense to buy at 2 separate resorts with smaller contracts. I don't know how using the points Works out with multiple contracts. I guess I still have lots of questions

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

You're definitely in the right place to find info before purchasing. I wish we had resources like this channel before we bought our first contract. I'd say that if it's always going to bother you to not have full benefits, then go ahead and get 150 points direct. Then you can add on resale points if you like, but you'll be a "blue card" member already. Owning at multiple home resorts is easy, as long as you keep the same use year for all contracts. They all show on the same dashboard and the points can be combined for reservations at the 7 month window. Best wishes on your DVC search!

[@christinaeverafter]

Thinking about direct

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

It's definitely tempting! We really like owning a combination of direct and resale points. That way you can buy enough to get membership benefits, but then pick up more points at a deeper discount. It's kind of the best of both worlds. Thanks for watching!

[@alisonl5439]

We just closed on an AKL contract resale! 🎉

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Congratulations! 🎉🍾

[@jenny71WDW]

resale all the way! Saves thousands.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

We own both resale and direct and we love both!

[@johnc7149]

Riveria and Disneyland resort resale restrictions hurt the resale value of those two. Tough to justify buying into those. Especially since neither resort is a draw that fills up in the 11 month window. Better to buy in other resorts and book into those if there is interest.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Honestly, this info is going to become obsolete when they open up sales of the new Polynesian tower and Fort Wilderness Cabins. If there's one thing that we can rely upon with DVC, it's that it's ALWAYS changing.

[@laurasponaugle9637]

You should go to Aulani!! It is actually wonderful. I think it is not selling out since most people live in Mainland USA.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

We’ve heard great things about Aulani! We definitely plan to go there in a few years.

[@timmyyee8982]

Any advice about buying grand Floridian versus waiting for the new Polynesian tower? The price on the grand Floridian right now makes it really attractive. But, worried that the new tower will have resale restrictions .

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Yeah, I wish I had an answer about the resale restrictions, but we just don't know yet. I think that Grand Floridian is a solid buy. Another factor to consider is the cost of waiting. Do you have trips you want to book now? Or do you have time to wait for Poly?

[@littlemissnobuy6164]

I would like it if Disney could offer shorter contracts. 10-15 years at new resorts. There is no way I can see my family wanting to go to WDW 50 more times. I’m happy that my teen still wants to go at all.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

That's an interesting idea. I can see how that might appeal to different buyers than the 50 year contracts. Fortunately, there's a thriving resale market for people who are done with their contracts after 10-15 years. Thanks so much for watching.

[@zfgracing]

Hello, I have resale question. If i bought 180 points lets say at AKL through resale would i qualify for the extra benefits? then lets say a year later i bought 50 at the GF would i be able to use all 230 points to book 11 months a head of time at GF?

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Okay, so you've got two separate questions here... 1) If you bought 180 points at AKV resale, and you didn't own any direct points, you would NOT be eligible for membership benefits, but you WOULD be able to use those points starting at 11 months before your check in date, and at all other resorts (except Riviera and Villas at Disneyland Hotel) at the 7 month window. 2) If you bought 50 points at VGF, you would be able to use those points at the 11 month window at VGF, then you'd be able to combine the points with the other resale points at the 7 month window to book at any of the resorts (the VGF points could be used anywhere because they would be direct points, and the AKV resale points could not be used at Riviera or Villas at Disneyland Hotel). You would still NOT be eligible for membership extras (benefits) because you would only own 50 points direct.

[@Itsrichardash]

I'm torn between buying more points at Grand Floridian or Boardwalk. I always feel sad when I don't get to stay at Boardwalk, so that's probably the right answer, but the 2042 expiration date makes me nervous because it's so soon compared to 2064. I can't decide what to do

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

That's a tough decision. We really enjoy staying at Boardwalk, but it can definitely be tough getting reservations there. We usually have to use waitlists to get to stay there (and we typically travel at off-peak times). On the other hand, I personally wouldn't be too keen on buying a property with a 2042 expiration date. I'd probably go with GF if I were you, simply because of the contract length. But if you REALLY want to stay at Boardwalk, then it may be worth buying there.

[@56strine]

Since you live on the West Coast. Why did you not purchase the Aulani DVC?

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

That's a great question! I'm glad you asked. First of all... here on the west coast, it's very common to travel to Hawaii for vacations (we've been multiple times), so going to Hawaii wasn't really high on or list of vacation destinations because we've already explored it a bit and we're theme park people. It's also common to visit different islands, and Aulani is on O'ahu, so it's not necessarily going to be where we want to stay anyway, especially given that we have friends/family on other islands. I've also found that the resale value is not as high for Aulani, which is a factor for me when deciding where to purchase. We did seriously consider the Disneyland Hotel DVC because it's so close to us, but we just don't travel to Disneyland as often. Of the 4 featured resorts, the one we own is Riviera because it's where we want to stay often and the style/location/room layouts and food are exactly what we want. I think for someone looking to buy at Disney World, if they didn't have a particular attachment to Riviera (which I DO), I'd probably recommend Grand Floridian.

[@56strine]

@@TheMagicInTheMusicI know there are a number of Non Disney Theme Park DVC Resorts on the East Coast. I am surprised Disney did not Expand to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. In my opinion, that would be a high demand DVC Resort. I believe in that ol’e real estate saying, “Location Location Location”.

[@davyannajones]

If you have 500 points at Old Key West and you buy a 50 point contract at Grand Floridian, can you book at 11 months at Grand Floridian using all 550 points?

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

No, the points can only be used at their home resort at 11 months. Once you reach 7 months, you can combine them to book at the other resorts, depending upon availability.

[@davyannajones]

@@TheMagicInTheMusic thanks! Somebody just asked me that and I’m like… Dude I haven’t the slightest clue.

[@J.Byronphillipsjr]

Wait.. what?? 100 is the minimum?? We joined last year at BLT and wasn’t told we could have purchased 100. All they mentioned was 150!!?!!

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

It does vary by resort, so you would need to ask a guide. I recall hearing that they recently changed it for new members. Here's an article about it: dvcfan.com/2023/04/07/direct-minimum-for-dvc-purchases-decreased-to-100-points/#:~:text=DVC%20is%20now%20allowing%20new,to%20qualify%20for%20Membership%20Extras.

[@J.Byronphillipsjr]

@@TheMagicInTheMusic Thanks. After reading it looks like I made the right decision. I want my “perks”!

[@SlimShadyAta]

dont do it ! its a scam!

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

I'm not sure what your definition of "scam" is but mine would be "something that doesn't deliver on what was promised". DVC DOES delivery on what is promised - stays at DVC resorts using DVC points. Of course it's important to research before making a purchase - that's exactly what I offer on my channel. I provide info so consumers can make informed decisions.