Best Economical DVC Resort to Purchase: Spring 2019
At DVC Resale Market we like to keep an economic Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Resort ranking maintained for our clients as prices, dues, resorts and Disney can change over time. We started this ranking in the Fall of 2014, and this blog represents our 10th in the series: Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018 and Fall 2018.
The chart below provides a long-term economic ranking of Disney Vacation Club resorts to own. The long-term value considers price, dues and years remaining on the deed to ultimately get to a price per point per year. This ranking may provide directional information in choosing a resort to own, especially for those Members or potential New Members who are less concerned about home resort priority and more focused on economic savings.
Spring 2018 Changes in DVC Economic Ranking
With the lowest dues in the Walt Disney World network and many years left on its deed, Grand Floridian (GF) now moves into the top 3 for the first time! This is a big jump from being ranked #6 last Spring and #5 just last Fall. Part of the reason for the jump is Grand Floridian was 1 of only 2 Walt Disney World Resorts to have a less than 5% increase in their dues for 2019. The dues increase for Walt Disney World properties in 2019 was one of the highest ever seen, in part due to the increase in minimum hourly wages.
This news may come as a nice surprise to many Grand Floridian owners, as primary intentions when buying GF is not necessarily economics over other DVC Resorts. Typically, a purchase of Grand Floridian is to get home resort priority at GF. Being Walt Disney World’s flagship resort with an excellent location and a small number of villas makes having home resort priority at Grand Floridian very valuable. As a result, the resale price of Grand Floridian has always remained among the top for DVC Resorts. Combining Grand Floridian’s strong popularity with a strong long term economic forecast compared to other resorts makes GF an even more attractive purchase option.
These rankings are based on most economical to own assuming the Member uses the points to travel to various resorts in the network and not just their home resort. If the point chart associated with where you own were taken into consideration, certainly the rankings would look different and Grand Floridian would not be in the top 3 with its higher than average point chart. For those interested in seeing the best DVC stays for point value, please see: Best Disney World Resorts for Stretching Your DVC Points.
Which DVC Resort Ranks #1 and #2?
In 2018, Saratoga Springs (SSR) and Bay Lake Tower (BLT) ranked #1 and #2 respectively, and that is continuing into 2019. Saratoga Springs is firmly #1 while Bay Lake Tower just narrowly edged out Grand Floridian for the #2 spot. Regardless, history has shown that if you are looking for a great resort to own for long term economics you cannot go wrong with SSR or BLT.
Technically, an Aulani subsidized dues contract would rank ahead of Saratoga Springs with a total cost per point per year of $8.38 vs. $9.31. However, due to their scarcity, much like Vero Beach subsidized contracts we do not include them in the rankings. However, we do include Extended Old Key West contracts as they are not as scarce and continue to grow in numbers. Whenever Disney buys back an Old Key West contract and resells them, they are automatically given an extended 2057 deed expiration date vs. a 2042 end date. Conversely, whenever a subsidized contract is bought back by Disney, it will no longer be subsidized when resold.
DVC Resort Economical Rankings: Spring 2019
| Resort | Avg. Cost Per Pt. | Years Left | Cost Per Pt. Per Year from Price | 2019 Dues Per Pt. | Total Cost Per Pt. Per Year | Rank: Fall 2018 | Rank: Spring 2019 | Rank Change |
| Saratoga Springs | $102 | 35 | $2.91 | $6.40 | $9.31 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Bay Lake Tower | $145 | 41 | $3.54 | $6.40 | $9.94 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Grand Floridian | $161 | 45 | $3.58 | $6.39 | $9.97 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Polynesian | $153 | 47 | $3.26 | $6.76 | $10.02 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Old Key West (Extended) | $111 | 38 | $2.92 | $7.23 | $10.15 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Aulani* | $106 | 43 | $2.47 | $7.86 | $10.33 | 6 | 6 | — |
| Animal Kingdom | $110 | 38 | $2.89 | $7.44 | $10.33 | 7 | 7 | — |
| Copper Creek | $144 | 49 | $2.94 | $7.43 | $10.37 | 8 | 8 | +1 |
| Grand Californian | $198 | 41 | $4.83 | $6.27 | $11.10 | 9 | 9 | — |
| Boulder Ridge | $98 | 23 | $4.26 | $7.32 | $11.58 | 11 | 10 | +1 |
| Old Key West | $104 | 23 | $4.52 | $7.23 | $11.75 | 10 | 11 | -1 |
| Hilton Head | $79 | 23 | $3.43 | $8.56 | $11.99 | 12 | 12 | — |
| Vero Beach** | $70 | 23 | $3.04 | $9.48 | $12.52 | 12 | 13 | -1 |
| Boardwalk | $132 | 23 | $5.74 | $7.17 | $12.91 | 14 | 14 | — |
| Beach Club | $139 | 23 | $6.04 | $6.94 | $12.98 | 15 | 15 | — |
| – Average cost per point based on Average DVC Resale Selling Prices for February 2019 | ||||||||
| – *Aulani with subsidized dues are $8.38 for a total cost per pt. per year (dues for 2019 are $5.91/pt.) | ||||||||
| – **Vero Beach with subsidized dues are $10.52 for a total cost per pt. per year (dues for 2019 are $7.48/pt.) | ||||||||
Additionally, this cost per point per year from the chart above can be used to help determine what a DVC Member theoretically pays for a Disney Vacation Club Villa. For example, let’s say you purchased a Bay Lake Tower contract and were going to stay at Bay Lake Tower in a standard view studio for one night on a weekday in Magic Season (typical Spring Break weeks and Summer Season). The number of points needed for that one night would be 19, and the estimated cost per point per year according to the chart above would be $9.94. So multiply the number of points needed by the cost per point and the result is 19 x $9.94 or $189/night.
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Comments
I think you should consider another layer to improve the comparability among the resorts. The prices quoted today are the sum of a series of prices that have been discounted to the present. A vacation this year is worth more than the same vacation in 10 years, which is worth more than the vacation in 30 years. To accurately compare the prices, I suggest that you price the first 23 years of each contract and then a subsequent contract for the remaining years. Only then can you compare, say, SSR to BLT. Due to the way you’ve structured it now, the shorter contracts will always be at a disadvantage. I may work on that tomorrow.
Which do you think is a better economical choice when buying 75 points direct, OKW at $156 or SSR at $160? OKW has extended contract, but higher dues. Thanks for your help.
Lynda – using the same formula with the prices your quoting the results would be $10.97/pt. per year for SSR and $11.34/pt. per year for OKW (Ext). So, in this case, SSR would still be the best economical choice.
Thank you. Any thoughts on whether SSR dues will rise disproportionately next year because of the upcoming refurbishment?
Lynda – anything is possible with a renovation, but typically DVC has a healthy amount of reserves for each resort planning for renovations.
As GF owners, we couldn’t agree more!