Disney Vacation Club Home Resort – Does it Matter?

When Disney rolled out their first timeshare program back in late 1991, it had one lone resort.  It really didn’t even have it’s own name yet it was simply called the Disney Vacation Club at Walt Disney World Resort. Today, it’s known as Old Key West, their flagship property.

One of the First Recorded Deeds

For Members considering buying for the first time or perhaps adding to their existing ownership, they now have 14 options to choose from with a 15th under construction at this very moment!  For first time buyers, choosing a home resort has become a bit daunting so let’s talk about what you’ll want to consider before signing on the dotted line.

The Practical Side of picking a Home Resort

1. Length of Ownership
2. Annual dues
3. How far in advance do you make reservations?

Length of Ownership – When the Disney Vacation Club was originally designed, the plan was to have all of the leases end in January of 2042.  That means Old Key West, Boardwalk, Vero Beach, Hilton Head, Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge (now aka Boulder Ridge) all have that lease expiration date. The only exception is when Disney tried a program offering an extension to Old Key West owners. Those who paid the upgrade fee now have a 2057 expiration, as do any Members able to buy directly from Disney today when they have OKW inventory.

When Saratoga Springs was built, they extended the lease to 2054 and all resorts from that point on had longer leases.  The year the resort was built it started with a 50 year ownership and went down each consecutive year.  Here are the dates of expiration as well as the annual dues for each DVC resort, our next topic.

Annual Dues – As you can see, each resort has it’s own cost to keep it in Disney worthy shape.  The dollar amount for Annual dues come from the cost to maintain the property itself like cleaning, painting, electricity, water, trash, etc. and the property taxes.  Disney takes the whole bill, divides it by the number of points sold at that resort and that’s the annual dues per point to each Member.  These can and do change each year. Often they increase a small percentage.   Historically speaking Saratoga Springs has remained the most affordable if you just consider the dues cost.  Vero Beach, has remained the highest. If you are buying 100 points at any given resort this year, your annual cost can vary from $586 to $853, which is a difference of $267 per year.  Over 25-50 years, those dollars and savings can make quite a difference!

Making Reservations – Finally on our practical decision side of home resort choices is what I refer to as the “know thyself” consideration.  If you are a short term planner and you never make reservations greater than 7 months in advance (and you probably aren’t going to change) then your decision for your home resort just got easier.  Since Disney treats everyone exactly the same for booking 7 months in advance or less, it simply doesn’t matter which home resort you choose because you aren’t going to get special treatment anyway.  If you fall into that category, you can look at the big picture from a financial standpoint and buy the most affordable property with the lowest annual dues, based on how long you want the ownership to be.  If, however, you plan greater than 7 months in advance, you’ll want to remember there is often no price for peace of mind and you’ll want to read part II of this series next week. 

Last but not least, how about owning more than one home resort?  It’s done and there is a strategy to it.  Let’s say you love The Boardwalk for it’s convenience to Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival while your other half loves the Polynesian for its tropical feel in the middle of winter.  If a week in each property costs about 300 points you can buy 150 points at each resort.  Through the tools of banking and borrowing, you can double your points every other year and have the 11 month home reservation window at each! Obviously you’ll need to find the compromise on which year you do what…or buy more points if you want to go twice a year to both places.   Trust me, if that’s you, you’re in good company.  Many DVCers come visit multiple times a year.  It truly is our home away from home.

Next week we will talk about the FUN side of picking a home resort. We will look at the ambiance of all 14 properties and what Members seem to notice and value most about each. Thanks for reading.