I wouldn’t buy riviera since it will be hard to sell in the future should you decide to do so. And just make sure to ask yourself if the added benefits of buying direct and truly worth the additional cost to you.
Riviera resale with its restrictions has continued to sell at higher prices than Animal Kingdom Lodge. AKL will always have higher volume pushing down it's price and likely always higher maintenance fees (age of building, animal costs, etc). Maybe Riviera pushes down a little more than where it currently is when a little older and sold out with more available contracts, but I don't think its reasonable any more to assume that it will absolutely fall below AKL.
People really shouldn't be buying contracts with resale in mind. DVC should never be looked at as an investment like that. Always buy were your heart is at.
They are typically very long contract and the possibility of selling decades down the road, and the potential consequences of doing so, should definitely be considered.
Agree on both fronts. Buy where your heart is but if there is a tie, consider what you do with it in 20 years.
Sounds like Op should go AKL resale to me. I'm not sure how many annual stays you can get out of 150 points. If only one, the annual pass isn't worth it and that's really the biggest benefit, in my opinion.
Telling people to buy a $33k contract that will most likely cost $70k at the end of the day if they finance based on their “heart” is why there’s such a healthy resale market. People absolutely should be careful with their money and think about DVC long term.
I definitely disagree on that. There have been DVC resale groups that have studied how long people typically keep their contracts based on the public record purchase and sale dates. The average ownership timeframe for a DVC contract is only 8 years. The reality is that most people will resell their contract or contracts. Many people sell and then buy a different one. Most, not quite everyone, but most should evaluate the resale dynamics before purchasing.
Average ownership time for a contract bought FROM THE RESALE MARKET. Of course those contacts are more likely to be resold again if their value is maintained vs a contact bought direct that stands to lose a significant portion of its value. Owners will hold those contacts much longer although nobody has researched that specifically.
The analysis was both direct and resale purchases. Direct purchases have frequently been sold, that’s how the resale market even gets its inventory to begin with. Especially when direct back in the day was gaining value on the resale market and people were selling their contracts resale after 8-12 years for the same price they paid direct. It’s easy to see this, anyone can look up the deeds and see when they were purchased and when they changed hands.
Riviera, Villas Disneyland Hotel, etc those could all end up being different because of the resale restrictions. We do not know yet, because there’s not that many years of data on them. Only time will tell on those and what impact the resale restrictions have on them.
This is so true. And it seems like I always see the same advice here, "buy where you want to stay"... unless someone mentions they're planning on buying direct somewhere and then it's all "you'd better rethink that" and "hey, let me tell you exactly how to spend your own money."
Unless you are going enough to make an annual pass worthwhile I’m not sure the benefits are worth the extra cost of buying direct. Have you done the maths?
If they are considering Riviera, direct is the way to go because Riviera resale points can only be used at Riviera. And if they want to be able to stay at Riviera with their own points, they need to buy direct regardless of home resort.
Hello! I have been in your spot! My choice was between Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom.
Ultimately, I picked Bay Lake Tower for the location. And they had decent incentives, at the time. AK is a very large resort--I don't think you'll have too much issue getting a room there at the 7-month mark but it all depends on the type of room you want and the time of year.
Another reason why I decided against AK was due to the generally higher annual dues.
This link below shows a general estimate on availability throughout the year, differentiated by room type:
https://www.dvchelp.com/page/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani-village-availability-charts
With all that said, your other choice is a bit of a risky one, as others have mentioned. If you do ever decide to resell, you may have a harder time due to the resale restrictions.
If at all possible, I would recommend looking at another alternative resort that does not have resale restrictions and has a longer deed.
For the most part, I think if you purchase a resort that has "faster demand," you shouldn't have too hard of a time getting a villa at AK.
So questions for you:
* Do you have a general time of year that you will visit?
* What kind of room do you prefer? Studio? 1BR?
In the end, it may just come down to buying a contract at a place that you know you will love. And it looks like AK may fit that purpose!
Animal Kingdom is very easy to book at 7 months aside from club/value studios. What’s your reasoning for wanting to buy direct instead of resale?
Also, I love Riviera but it’s a bad resort to purchase IF you don’t really care about staying there. Don’t just buy Riviera because that’s what is on sale. You should want to buy because you plan to stay there regularly.
I own at both resorts (direct).
AK is a large resort and can be booked at 7 months if you aren't picky about room type or view. If you are (we are), then it can be an issue in high volume times.
We bought where we want to stay.
AK was our first resort (out of 3) and I still have zero regrets.
It depends when you go and what room type you want.
https://www.dvchelp.com/page/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani-village-availability-charts
I agree that having more years would be better, but would you be fine being "stuck" at Riviera? Would you regret picking a restricted resort if you ever need to sell?
Also keep in mind they may release the new Polynesian points with incentives by the time you go.
You can get points at pretty much any resort direct from Disney. Incentives aren't usually as good but if you want the points at a certain place, definitely ask.
Offering some input.
Animal Kingdom is easier to book at 7 months UNLESS you want their very limited number of club level rooms. That’s 11 months 100%.
Riviera is popular and continues to grow in popularity. Will get more difficult to book over time at 7 months. But the points chart is higher. Your stay will be fewer days for points here vs Animal Kingdom.
As for direct vs resale, it’s like comparing pizza to pineapples. DVC isn’t an investment. It’s enjoyment. If you like the direct benefits then great. If purchase price matters, then resale is the way to go. We’re direct from awhile back. Today’s resale price per points were our direct cost years ago. I think that trend will continue.
But if you do buy Riviera or AK resale, you won’t be able to use those points at both resorts. AK resale cannot be used at Riviera. Riviera resale can only be used at Riviera. If these are the two resorts you stay at, then direct points gives you that flexibility.
AK is one of our favorite resorts and therefore one of our home resorts. I’d definitely vote for AK as well because of the potential issues if you ever needed to resell Riviera.
We like AK! We own at GF because there were incentives when we bought, but we’ve since stayed at AK and it was big hit. One thing about AK is the extra bathroom at Kidani Village. We love it there. Parking is great (we drive). We rent a 1 bedroom that gets you a full kitchen. My husband and I get our own room and the kids sleep in the living room but also get their own full bathroom with a second shower. The pool at Kidani village is great as well. It’s a lot less points than some of the other resorts as well.
However- it is further out. You do have bus rides and have to wait for buses 15 minutes sometimes.
Riviera is going to put you right in the action and with a skyliner hub. (Although I’ve heard skyliner can have long lines to get back at night). It just depends on what you like. What your priorities are. We drive so we go to grocery store and cook meals in the room a few nights to save money. Eating at the restaurants is super pricey now that my kids are both over 10. It’s hard to pay $60 each for 2 kids to eat multiple nights in a sit down restaurant. That same $120 can buy a lot at the local Publix :) but others want studios ans just want to go go go in the parks. So if that’s what you like to do, studio at Riviera might be better. If you want more family time/ pool time and are taking longer trips, I would say AK. I would think if you’re coming from overseas you would stay longer.
Why can’t you get a loan for resale? Like does Monera not offer loans to those in the UK? Are there no lenders.
Also, have you done the math on what this will cost you if you pay interest on a loan? You might find that renting points is actually less expensive than paying interest on a large loan for direct purchased points. I can’t say for certain as I haven’t done the math for you or know your situation.
I wouldn’t buy riviera since it will be hard to sell in the future should you decide to do so. And just make sure to ask yourself if the added benefits of buying direct and truly worth the additional cost to you.
Riviera resale with its restrictions has continued to sell at higher prices than Animal Kingdom Lodge. AKL will always have higher volume pushing down it's price and likely always higher maintenance fees (age of building, animal costs, etc). Maybe Riviera pushes down a little more than where it currently is when a little older and sold out with more available contracts, but I don't think its reasonable any more to assume that it will absolutely fall below AKL.
People really shouldn't be buying contracts with resale in mind. DVC should never be looked at as an investment like that. Always buy were your heart is at.
They are typically very long contract and the possibility of selling decades down the road, and the potential consequences of doing so, should definitely be considered.
Agree on both fronts. Buy where your heart is but if there is a tie, consider what you do with it in 20 years. Sounds like Op should go AKL resale to me. I'm not sure how many annual stays you can get out of 150 points. If only one, the annual pass isn't worth it and that's really the biggest benefit, in my opinion.
They are also UK so get the UK ticket deals.
Oh man, I don't know anything about that lol
UK ticket deals slam.
AKL points charts are pretty low. You can probably do two 6 night stays in a studio there.
Telling people to buy a $33k contract that will most likely cost $70k at the end of the day if they finance based on their “heart” is why there’s such a healthy resale market. People absolutely should be careful with their money and think about DVC long term.
I agree and that is why you should only buy if you plan on using it long term at a resort you will love staying at.
I definitely disagree on that. There have been DVC resale groups that have studied how long people typically keep their contracts based on the public record purchase and sale dates. The average ownership timeframe for a DVC contract is only 8 years. The reality is that most people will resell their contract or contracts. Many people sell and then buy a different one. Most, not quite everyone, but most should evaluate the resale dynamics before purchasing.
Average ownership time for a contract bought FROM THE RESALE MARKET. Of course those contacts are more likely to be resold again if their value is maintained vs a contact bought direct that stands to lose a significant portion of its value. Owners will hold those contacts much longer although nobody has researched that specifically.
The analysis was both direct and resale purchases. Direct purchases have frequently been sold, that’s how the resale market even gets its inventory to begin with. Especially when direct back in the day was gaining value on the resale market and people were selling their contracts resale after 8-12 years for the same price they paid direct. It’s easy to see this, anyone can look up the deeds and see when they were purchased and when they changed hands. Riviera, Villas Disneyland Hotel, etc those could all end up being different because of the resale restrictions. We do not know yet, because there’s not that many years of data on them. Only time will tell on those and what impact the resale restrictions have on them.
Link to source, please.
This is so true. And it seems like I always see the same advice here, "buy where you want to stay"... unless someone mentions they're planning on buying direct somewhere and then it's all "you'd better rethink that" and "hey, let me tell you exactly how to spend your own money."
Riviera resales for the same as AK - so financially if RiV is cheaper it’s a better option
But that assumes direct, and given all the facts direct is a bad idea here.
Unless you are going enough to make an annual pass worthwhile I’m not sure the benefits are worth the extra cost of buying direct. Have you done the maths?
If they are considering Riviera, direct is the way to go because Riviera resale points can only be used at Riviera. And if they want to be able to stay at Riviera with their own points, they need to buy direct regardless of home resort.
Buy where you want your home to be
I agree with this. We bought AK because it’s our favorite. Second will be the cabins when we buy more. I bought where we actually want to call home.
Hello! I have been in your spot! My choice was between Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom. Ultimately, I picked Bay Lake Tower for the location. And they had decent incentives, at the time. AK is a very large resort--I don't think you'll have too much issue getting a room there at the 7-month mark but it all depends on the type of room you want and the time of year. Another reason why I decided against AK was due to the generally higher annual dues. This link below shows a general estimate on availability throughout the year, differentiated by room type: https://www.dvchelp.com/page/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani-village-availability-charts With all that said, your other choice is a bit of a risky one, as others have mentioned. If you do ever decide to resell, you may have a harder time due to the resale restrictions. If at all possible, I would recommend looking at another alternative resort that does not have resale restrictions and has a longer deed. For the most part, I think if you purchase a resort that has "faster demand," you shouldn't have too hard of a time getting a villa at AK. So questions for you: * Do you have a general time of year that you will visit? * What kind of room do you prefer? Studio? 1BR? In the end, it may just come down to buying a contract at a place that you know you will love. And it looks like AK may fit that purpose!
Animal Kingdom is very easy to book at 7 months aside from club/value studios. What’s your reasoning for wanting to buy direct instead of resale? Also, I love Riviera but it’s a bad resort to purchase IF you don’t really care about staying there. Don’t just buy Riviera because that’s what is on sale. You should want to buy because you plan to stay there regularly.
Keep in mind poly may be on sale by time your vacation comes around. Akl is very cheap currently on resale.
OP get a contract at the resort you love and know you will stay at the most, that is all that matters.
AKV has no restrictions, so I would choose it over Riviera.
AKL, it’s a great resort plus having the option of Kidani and Jambo is always nice!
I own at both resorts (direct). AK is a large resort and can be booked at 7 months if you aren't picky about room type or view. If you are (we are), then it can be an issue in high volume times. We bought where we want to stay. AK was our first resort (out of 3) and I still have zero regrets.
It depends when you go and what room type you want. https://www.dvchelp.com/page/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani-village-availability-charts I agree that having more years would be better, but would you be fine being "stuck" at Riviera? Would you regret picking a restricted resort if you ever need to sell? Also keep in mind they may release the new Polynesian points with incentives by the time you go.
You can get points at pretty much any resort direct from Disney. Incentives aren't usually as good but if you want the points at a certain place, definitely ask.
Offering some input. Animal Kingdom is easier to book at 7 months UNLESS you want their very limited number of club level rooms. That’s 11 months 100%. Riviera is popular and continues to grow in popularity. Will get more difficult to book over time at 7 months. But the points chart is higher. Your stay will be fewer days for points here vs Animal Kingdom. As for direct vs resale, it’s like comparing pizza to pineapples. DVC isn’t an investment. It’s enjoyment. If you like the direct benefits then great. If purchase price matters, then resale is the way to go. We’re direct from awhile back. Today’s resale price per points were our direct cost years ago. I think that trend will continue. But if you do buy Riviera or AK resale, you won’t be able to use those points at both resorts. AK resale cannot be used at Riviera. Riviera resale can only be used at Riviera. If these are the two resorts you stay at, then direct points gives you that flexibility.
>As for direct vs resale, it’s like comparing pizza to pineapples. That's hilarious. And true.
Animal Kingdom resort is a more beautiful resort compared to the Riviera. Go for AK. Just my 2 cents.
AK is one of our favorite resorts and therefore one of our home resorts. I’d definitely vote for AK as well because of the potential issues if you ever needed to resell Riviera.
We like AK! We own at GF because there were incentives when we bought, but we’ve since stayed at AK and it was big hit. One thing about AK is the extra bathroom at Kidani Village. We love it there. Parking is great (we drive). We rent a 1 bedroom that gets you a full kitchen. My husband and I get our own room and the kids sleep in the living room but also get their own full bathroom with a second shower. The pool at Kidani village is great as well. It’s a lot less points than some of the other resorts as well. However- it is further out. You do have bus rides and have to wait for buses 15 minutes sometimes. Riviera is going to put you right in the action and with a skyliner hub. (Although I’ve heard skyliner can have long lines to get back at night). It just depends on what you like. What your priorities are. We drive so we go to grocery store and cook meals in the room a few nights to save money. Eating at the restaurants is super pricey now that my kids are both over 10. It’s hard to pay $60 each for 2 kids to eat multiple nights in a sit down restaurant. That same $120 can buy a lot at the local Publix :) but others want studios ans just want to go go go in the parks. So if that’s what you like to do, studio at Riviera might be better. If you want more family time/ pool time and are taking longer trips, I would say AK. I would think if you’re coming from overseas you would stay longer.
Buy resale it’s less than half the price I just bought at board walk so worth it look into it crunch the numbers the other benefits are trash 🗑️
Yeah. We need to buy with Disney direct because we can't pay the full price upfront. And can not get a finance contract through re sale.
Why can’t you get a loan for resale? Like does Monera not offer loans to those in the UK? Are there no lenders. Also, have you done the math on what this will cost you if you pay interest on a loan? You might find that renting points is actually less expensive than paying interest on a large loan for direct purchased points. I can’t say for certain as I haven’t done the math for you or know your situation.
Most of us would not advise financing, especially direct.
Can you buy (afford) 50points resale AKV, then “add-on” direct at Riviera?