Best Economical DVC Resorts to Purchase: Spring 2021

Riviera dvc resort hotel at Disney World, surrounded by palm trees and clear blue skies

At DVC Resale Market, we like to keep an economic Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Resort ranking maintained for our clients as prices, dues, and resorts. Disney can change these metrics over time. We started this ranking in the Fall of 2014, and this blog represents our 14th 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, and Fall 2020.

DVC Resort Economical Rankings: Spring 2021

The chart below provides a long-term economic ranking of Disney Vacation Club resorts to own. The long-term value takes into consideration the 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.

Resort Avg. Cost Per Pt. Years Left Cost Per Pt. Per Year from Price 2021 Dues Total Cost Per Pt. Per Year Rank: Spring 2021 Rank: Fall 2020 Rank Change 
Polynesian $158 45 $3.51 $7.05 $10.56  1  2  +1
Saratoga Springs $118 33 $3.58 $7.11 $10.69  2  1  -1
Copper Creek $152 47 $3.23 $7.59 $10.82  3  6  +3
Bay Lake Tower $160 39 $4.10 $6.90 $11.00  4  3  -1
Grand Floridian $185 43 $4.30 $6.81 $11.11  5  5   —
Riviera*** $139 49 $2.84 $8.38 $11.22  6  NR   —
Aulani* $120 41 $2.93 $8.35 $11.28  7  4  -3
Animal Kingdom $122 36 $3.39 $8.07 $11.46  8  7  -1
Old Key West (Extended) $117 36 $3.25 $8.36 $11.61  9  8  -1 
Grand Californian $244 39 $6.26 $6.99 $13.25 10  9  -1
Old Key West $110 21 $5.24 $8.36 $13.60 11  10  -1
Hilton Head $78 21 $3.71 $9.97 $13.68 12  11  -1
Boulder Ridge $121 21 $5.76 $8.11 $13.87 13  12  -1
Boardwalk $133 21 $6.33 $7.81 $14.14 14  13  -1
Beach Club $151 21 $7.19 $7.44 $14.63 15  15  —
Vero Beach** $75 21 $3.57 $11.23 $14.80 16  14   -2
 – Average cost per point based on DVC Resale Average Sales Prices for March ’21
 – *Aulani with subsidized dues are $9.37 for a total cost per pt. per year (dues for 2021 are $6.28/pt.)
– **Vero Beach with subsidized dues are $12.43 for a total cost per pt. per year (dues for 2021 are $8.86/pt.)
-***Points purchase via resale at the Riviera Resort can only be used for stays at the Riviera Resort or within the RCI 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 Copper Creek contract and were going to stay at Copper Creek in a deluxe studio for one night on a weekday during the summer. The number of points needed for that one night would be 17, and the estimated cost per point per year according to the chart above would be $10.82. So multiply the number of points needed by the cost per point and the result is 17 x $10.82 or $183.94/night. The retail price of this room in the summer season is typically in excess of $450/night.

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Comments

  • Gary Everling
    December 29, 2021

    Nick, your analysis is very helpful. But I believe your last paragraph should be included as another column in your table and would re-rank your resorts. For example, at the Poly the cost per night (assuming an average of 21 points per night) would be $221. However, the cost per night at the Boardwalk would be $184 (assuming an average of 13 points per night). So, even though the Boardwalk has fewer years left, it may be cheaper on a per night basis.

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