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You’re ready to buy into the Disney Vacation Club program, and I speak from experience when I say you’ll never regret it. Still, the decision will be difficult due to the sheer number of excellent choices available. Guests can choose between 17 different Home Resorts, all of which are wonderful in their own ways.
So, how do you decide which DVC resort is best for you? Here are a few tips for choosing the ideal DVC property as your Home Resort.
Consider Your Preferences
Purchasing a DVC membership is akin to deciding which car to buy. Thankfully, DVC contracts are typically much cheaper than new or late-model used cars. However, you’ll own your DVC contract for much longer. At a minimum, your contract will last 18 years, and it could provide you with Disney vacations into the 2070s! No car you buy could possibly do that!
Since your investment will pay dividends for decades to come, you should consider many of your personal preferences. For instance, do you plan to spend all your time at/around Disney theme parks, or would you rather spend some of your vacations at the beach?
If you like beaches, you should evaluate the contracts at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, and Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas. These three properties reside close to the ocean, making them ideal for a serene vacation.
Conversely, if you’re buying into DVC to vacation at the theme parks, you should prioritize the resorts near the parks. Even then, you should decide whether you prefer Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World.
Fans of Disneyland Resort should target contracts at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel and The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Everyone else should evaluate the Walt Disney World properties instead.
As you can see, every personal preference will indirectly impact which DVC resort is best for you. So, let’s examine a few of the most important considerations.
How Long Are Your Vacations?
Are you someone who prefers three-day weekends, weeklong vacations, or spending 10+ days at the parks? Your response proves integral to where you should buy. For instance, those of you who take shorter trips can buy a contract at DVC’s “most expensive” properties. In this scenario, I’m defining “most expensive” as the resorts that charge the most for a single-night visit.
You should familiarize yourself with the DVC Points Chart or use the Point Calculator for this reason. In reading the various charts, you’ll notice that a single night in a Studio at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa costs as little as 16 points per night or as much as 54 points per night. The price fluctuates, depending on myriad factors like the time of year and preferred room type.
What you can tell from the range is that you’ll probably spend about 35 DVC Points for a night at the Grand Floridian. Cheaper options are obviously available, but we’re just creating a baseline for the moment.
Contrast that price to a night at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. Studios here could cost anywhere between nine and 28 DVC Points. So, the average room costs about 18-19 DVC Points. As you can see, you can basically spend two nights at Saratoga Springs for every one night at the Grand Floridian. If you generally take longer vacations, you’ll stretch your DVC Points more at Saratoga Springs.
Where Do You Expect to Stay the Most?
Of course, that’s only part of the conversation. The genius of the DVC program is that when you buy a contract at one, you can also stay at the others, although there are three exceptions we’ll discuss in a moment.
So, you can still stay at the Grand Floridian when you buy at Saratoga Springs or vice versa. The catch is something called the Home Resort benefit. At your Home Resort, you can reserve a room up to 11 months ahead of your vacation. At non-Home Resorts, you must wait until you’re seven months away from your trip.
In other words, your Home Resort is where you’re likeliest to book because you’ll have the best opportunity to do so. That’s why many DVC members are emphatic that you should buy at the place where you expect to stay the most.
The Rule Restrictions at Three Resorts
The DVC Point Charts will determine this decision to an extent, but there are other factors that matter just as much. I’ll start with an obscure one.
DVC changed its rules a few years ago. Disney recognized the value of resales contracts, which provide better value than direct purchases. So, Disney modified its rules at Disney’s Riviera Resort, The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, and The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
When you purchase a resale contract at these three resorts, your DVC Points only work for your Home Resort. If you buy at the Riviera, you can stay at the Riviera. If you buy at The Cabins, you can only stay there.
Realistically, the only property where this is significantly impactful (in the author’s opinion) is the Riviera. Disneyland Resort only has two DVC properties, and it’s often challenging to book at the Grand Californian. Meanwhile, if you buy at Fort Wilderness, it’s probably because you love the area. Still, you should be aware of these restrictions, as they could impact your purchase.
Other Factors to Consider
With DVC, your obvious factor is the price. Depending on your preferences, you’ll spend at least a few thousand dollars on a contract, and it could cost tens of thousands of dollars more. That’s only part of the price, though. DVC also charges annual dues on its contracts. You’ll pay this fee each January.
I’m sincere when I state that you should be grateful for this aspect of membership. DVC performs room upgrades on a set schedule. Every seven years, your Home Resort will change its look to make the rooms feel fresh and new. Seven years later, DVC will basically perform something called a Hard Goods refurbishment. It’ll change the entire room schematic.
So, you’re paying for those changes as well as the upkeep of the hotel itself. Since you’ve invested in this location, you want that. Unfortunately, some of the DVC properties, especially the ones close to the ocean, require higher maintenance fees. You can blame hurricane season for that one. When you buy at these locations, you may pay less money initially, but the long-term cost may prove costlier.
Similarly, two resorts, The Villas at Disneyland Hotel and Aulani, require something called a Transit Occupancy Tax. You should be aware of this cost, as it’s basically a nightly fee you’ll pay to stay at the resort.
Finally, your age will play a factor, as will your family status. DVC contracts come with Expiration years ranging from 2042 until the 2070s. Younger people should prioritize contracts that last decades longer, as should older buyers who want to deed their contracts to loved ones. I quite like knowing that my nieces and nephews will enjoy DVC vacations long after I’m gone, thanks to my contract.
How to Decide Which DVC Resort Is Best for You?
I’ve tried to detail the complexities and nuances of the DVC program in a single post, which isn’t easy. Still, I don’t want you to miss the forest for the trees here. Every DVC resort embodies the pinnacle of hotel design and immersive Disney theming. You cannot go wrong buying at any of these places. You’ll delight in your purchase, just as my family has treasured every moment we’ve been a part of DVC.
So, my vote here is for you to do the obvious thing. Pick your favorite DVC resort. Then, perform the calculations to ensure you can afford it. After that, check the Expiration Year of your contract. Eight years definitely qualifies as a long time, but you may find a resort you like almost as much that you can own for decades longer.
Most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff! I remember how diligently I approached my first resales contract, worrying that I’d choose wrong. I spent months stressing over my decision. Since then, I’ve learned about Add-on-itis. I know now that I can buy a new DVC contract whenever I want to extend the value of the one I already have. Simply stated, there’s never a wrong time to buy into DVC, and you’ll always be grateful that you did.
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