Best Economical DVC Resorts to Purchase: Fall 2024
At the DVC Resale Market, we understand that making a DVC purchase is an investment, and finding the most economical option is crucial. That’s why we created this blog to provide you with valuable insights each season.
Our goal is simple: evaluate and rank the most economical DVC purchases based on three key factors:
- Average Cost Per Point: We analyze the current average price per point to purchase at each resort.
- Current Dues: We take into account the current annual dues at each resort, recognizing these expenses can vary from year to year and differ between resorts.
- Years Remaining on the Deed: We take into account the years remaining on the deed at each resort, providing insight into the long-term value of your investment.
Using these factors, we calculate and rank each resort to help you identify the best value for your money when purchasing a new DVC contract. Keep in mind these rankings may fluctuate slightly each season, reflecting changes in market conditions and resort offerings.
We started this ranking in the Fall of 2014, and this blog represents our 20th in the series: Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016,Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023 and Spring 2024
Riviera Rises to the Top of the List
Five years after opening just a short walk from the high-flying gondola system, Riviera Resort has risen to the top of the Best Economical Resort to Own rankings for the first time ever. The surprising move by this sometime misunderstood DVC Resale Market property, which jumped up two spots since the Spring 2024 rankings, means Copper Creek has been dethroned after holding down the #1 position for the past three rankings.
Photo Courtesy of DisneyTouristBlog.com
Despite being replaced as the No. 1-ranked resort, Copper Creek Villas and Cabins, which opened July 2017 at the beloved Wilderness Lodge location, is still one of the top two-ranked DVC resorts in the semi-annual economic report. Meanwhile, Bay Lake Tower remains one of the “best bang for your buck” resorts falling one spot to #3.
So what propelled Riviera to the top of the leaderboard? The biggest factor was a significant decline in Riviera’s average sales price to $116 per point, according to the recently published October 2024 DVC Resale Average Sales Prices report. Riviera’s recent change in average price was a $10 per point drop from $126 in the Spring Report.
Resale market restrictions associated with Riviera notwithstanding, this favorable change in economic conditions represents an excellent time to purchase Riviera, especially for those who value this dynamic resort perfectly located between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot and want that 11-month Home Resort Priority.
Polynesian Also Makes Big Move in Rankings
At a time when DVC is buzzing with excitement about the new phase of villas at Disney’s Polynesian Resort & Bungalows, the iconic Disney World property made more news jumping two spots to tie Saratoga Springs for #4 in the latest economic analysis. One of the fascinating factors that helped fuel the Polynesian’s ascent was an actual decrease in the resort’s proposed 2025 annual dues recently announced by Disney.
Two other DVC resorts made noticeable shifts in the semi-annual economic rankings: Grand Californian and Beach Club. The Grand Californian jumped three spots to #12, thanks in part to the average sales price falling to $242 per point in October from $260 last April.
Meanwhile, Beach Club’s move was conspicuous for opposite reasons as it fell one spot to the bottom of the rankings or #17 overall with the average price per point increasing to $145 per point in October, up from $129 per point last April.
Interestingly, Vero Beach Resort managed to just edge past Beach Club and climb out of the rankings cellar at #16 despite perennially having the club’s highest annual dues cost basis per point.
DVC Resort Economical Rankings: Fall 2024
The chart below provides a long-term economic ranking of each Disney Vacation Club resorts. The long-term value takes into consideration the resale price at a point in time (this report uses Oct. 2024), annual dues, and the years remaining on the deed to ultimately get to an estimated 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.
| Resort | Avg. Cost Per Pt. | Years Left | Cost Per Pt. Per Year from Price | 2025 Dues | Total Cost Per Pt. Per Year | Rank: Fall 2024 | Rank: Spring 2024 | Rank Change |
| Riviera *** | $116 | 45 | $2.58 | $9.06 | $11.64 | 1 | 3 | +2 |
| Copper Creek | $140 | 43 | $3.26 | $8.49 | $11.75 | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Bay Lake Tower | $136 | 35 | $3.89 | $8.02 | $11.91 | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| Saratoga Springs | $99 | 29 | $3.41 | $8.54 | $11.95 | 4 | 4 | — |
| Polynesian | $165 | 41 | $4.02 | $7.93 | $11.95 | 5 | 5 | +2 |
| Grand Floridian | $167 | 39 | $4.28 | $7.93 | $12.21 | 6 | 5 | -1 |
| Aulani * | $99 | 37 | $2.68 | $10.12 | $12.80 | 7 | 8 | +1 |
| Animal Kingdom | $110 | 32 | $3.44 | $9.65 | $13.09 | 8 | 7 | -1 |
| Disneyland Hotel*** | $185 | 49 | $3.78 | $9.82 | $13.60 | 9 | 9 | — |
| Old Key West (Extended | $114 | 32 | $3.56 | $10.50 | $14.06 | 10 | 10 | — |
| Boulder Ridge | $108 | 17 | $6.35 | $9.19 | $15.54 | 11 | 11 | — |
| Grand Californian | $242 | 35 | $6.91 | $8.80 | $15.71 | 12 | 15 | +3 |
| Old Key West | $95 | 17 | $5.59 | $10.50 | $16.09 | 13 | 11 | -1 |
| Hilton Head | $72 | 17 | $4.24 | $11.92 | $16.16 | 14 | 13 | -1 |
| Boardwalk | $123 | 17 | $7.24 | $9.06 | $16.30 | 15 | 14 | -1 |
| Vero Beach** | $56 | 17 | $3.29 | $14.30 | $17.59 | 16 | 17 | +1 |
| Beach Club | $145 | 17 | $8.53 | $9.12 | $17.65 | 17 | 16 | -1 |
| Notes: | ||||||||
| * Avg. cost per point based on DVC Resale Average Sales Prices for October 2024 | ||||||||
| * Aulani contracts that originated pre-July 6, 2011 have 2024 annual dues of $7.61/point | ||||||||
| ** Vero contracts that originated pre-January 1, 1996 have 2024 annual dues of $11.24/point | ||||||||
| *** Points purchased via resale at Riviera Resort & Villa and Villas at Disneyland Hotel can only be used for stays at their Home Resort or within the Interval International network | ||||||||
Additionally, this yearly cost per point metric 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 Polynesian contract and were going to stay at the Polynesian in a deluxe studio (standard view) for one night on a weekday during the popular summer timeframe of June 11-Aug. 31, or Travel Period 4, when looking at the respective DVC Point Charts. The number of points needed for that one night is 20, and the estimated cost per point per year according to the above chart is $11.95. So multiply the number of points needed by the cost per point and the result is 20 x $11.95 or $239/night. For those not using points, the room’s retail price in the same summer months is typically in excess of $750/night plus taxes.
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