DVC Blog - Issue #5 - Now what? Part 1

Uncovering Disney’s Best Kept Secret – The Disney Vacation Club
Issue 5

I’m sold. Now what? – Part 1

Time to join the family. Great! Just as you took time to consider your options when deciding to join, you need to weigh your options in how to join. When it comes to joining there are really 2 options. Purchase a contract from Disney Vacation Club or purchase a contract on the open market. There are plenty of pros and cons for both options. Either way though, you become a full fledged member of the DVC family.

Let’s look at buying from DVC first. When you buy directly from DVC you are getting the direct contract and direct pricing without any extra fees or time wasted. One big benefit is that you are usually buying the whole 50 year contract. Most contracts on the open market have many years used already. Also, Disney usually runs some type of special that will give you bonuses. They frequently have discount on points ($3-5 off regular price) and other times they will give you free, one time use points so that your first vacation is free. They also have the ability to finance the contract through their company. This can be a benefit if you are not sure if you can finance it outside. Finally, if you purchase through DVC, you know that you are going really getting the contract. (See ROFR in next paragraph). A couple of drawbacks are obvious. You will be paying more for the points since you get all, or most of, the 50 years and there is no real market competition for these new points. You are also limited to what your “home” resort can be. There are rumors out there that Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom are very close to, if not already, sold out. That leave the new Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary (coming soon) and the Grand Californian Villas at Disneyland. If you don’t want those as your “home” you will have to go on the open market.

When considering buying on the open market, keep in mind that the process can be more involved and you need to be patient. You can look around online and find people that are trying to sell their contracts directly and there are also people that make their living off of selling only DVC contracts. I would personally recommend using a broker. It will cost a bit more as they add broker fees, but it will save you a lot of headaches as they know the system and will walk you through the rough spots. (See next week’s blog for tips on how to choose a broker)

There is a lot of upside in buying and existing contract. For starters, it will be a lot cheaper than buying through DVC. You can usually save about 20% or so off the DVC price. Even with the broker and transfer fees, you are still going to come out ahead. You also have the ability to choose your “home” resort. There is almost always someone from every resort looking so sell and if you are patient, you can find the exact contract you want. The major drawback of buying a contract is Disney’s “Right Of First Refusal” (ROFR). The DVC contract states that if you ever want to sell your contract, DVC has the right to match the offer that the other person has made. I believe that ROFR is DVCs way of making sure that prices on the secondary market don’t go too low. So you may work for weeks to find the contract you want, negotiate a good price and then find that DVC wants the points and you have to start over again.

So decide for yourself if you want to got DVC way or use a broker to buy a contract, but don’t start yet! Come back for Part 2 of “I’m sold! Now what?” We will discuss how to choose a home resort and a couple of tips for those that are looking for a good broker.


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If you are interested in more information about joining DVC, please drop me a note and I will get you connected with my great DVC rep. To be fair, I do get a gift when I recommend people to DVC.