Disney Vacation Club Introduces Resale Restrictions

Disney Vacation Club has announced new resale restrictions that take effect on January 19, 2019.

On that date, resale contracts submitted to Disney for the current 14 Disney Vacation Club properties will only be able to exchange into those 14 Disney Vacation Club properties. They will not be able to exchange into the new Riviera Resort opening later this year, upcoming Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge Resort, or any other future properties.

The announcement also included a restriction regarding Riviera Resort resales. When sales open for Riviera Resort contracts, if a resale contract is purchased for Riviera Resort you will only be able to stay at Riviera Resort — not the 14 other properties, upcoming Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge Resort, or any other future properties.

Disney’s Riviera Resort Concept Art ©Disney

All DVC members will still have access to RCI after these new DVC restrictions are in place.

Reflections – A Disney Lakesdie Lodge Concept Art ©Disney

To be grandfathered in to the current rules, that would allow you to exchange into any of the 14 existing properties, the new Riviera Resort, upcoming Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge Resort, or any other future properties your contract must be submitted to Disney for Right of First Refusal prior to January 19, 2019.

Are you a Disney Vacation Club Member? What do you think of these new restrictions? Will this impact your future decisions if you were thinking about buying into Disney Vacation Club or any of the future properties? Let us know in the comments below!

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Sarah has built a career in communications and marketing that started when she was the editor of her high school newspaper. She has written for AllEars.net since 2018, and enjoys sharing Disney news and updates with the AllEars community. She's been a Disney fan ever since her first visit to Walt Disney World when she was 5, and has been known to arrange trips around visiting a Disney park!

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11 Replies to “Disney Vacation Club Introduces Resale Restrictions”

  1. I don’t see how this isn’t anti-competitive and against the law! Disney is doing all they can to stifle the resale market because they find it difficult to compete, hence the reason for the constant introductions of resale restrictions! The FTC should be looking into this!

  2. I am a DVC member (since 2009). I have carefully tracked the amount of cash I’ve spent up front (resale) and on maintenance fees with DVC. When I compare that amount (including the time-value of money) to the amount of money I would have spent for lodging at WDW (being realistic about opting for moderates or value resorts), I break even. DVC is not a money saver, BUT I’m vacationing at WDW just as often as I was before 2009, spending similar amounts of money (plus inflation), and I’m staying in deluxe resorts larger rooms with full kitchens.

    1. Charles,
      Does having a contract that is expensive and only “breaks even” if you visit often (at least once every 2 years) make you feel the need to visit more often than you would like, or can afford? And, we loved WDW and visited at least yearly for about 10 years. At that point, we became burnt out and just didn’t want to visit any more. Do you think you can keep your desire to visit WDW or DVC’s for the next 20 years?

  3. For those who lament that a Disney World vacation is too expensive and to controlled, Disney Vacation Club is the main contributor. Through the expansion of Vacation Club membership (time sharing) and elimination of regular hotel rooms, Disney will finally be in total control of park attendance and all guest owner services. Eventually all of the perks (fast pass, dining plan, early entry, etc.) will be available only for card carrying Vacation Club “owners”. And with less and less regular hotel rooms (those remaining will be used for conferences), it will be difficult and expensive for the non Vacation Club members to vacation. Those few that are lucky and financially able get a room, will then have to endure the parks without those perks mentioned above.

    This move towards total Vacation Club ownership will essentially make Disney World a private theme park.

  4. Wow! One amazing thing about DVC is how it held up on the resale market. If they continue this for future properties, it makes buying one of the original 14 on the resale market MUCH more enticing than buying from the developer. I have loved my DVC. But don’t see myself adding on through Disney again.

  5. When you purchase a DVC contract, you’re gambling that your up-front purchase plus annual fees will end up being cheaper than just paying for a normal hotel room over that time. Disney is gambling the opposite. Someone’s going to lose. Who do you think it will be.

    Disney might occasionally see a loss in terms of the value of these rooms. Where they always win. Specifically in comparing these rooms to a hotel room, is that once you own those points, they now have a guaranteed captive customer. You have to use those points, sell them, or forfeit them. Either way, Disney wins, because they have a guaranteed paying customer for 20-30 years. This is not something that you can compare to staying in a hotel room, because for most people, even the diehard Disney fans here, returning every 1-3 years for 30+ years is almost a statistical improbability and something that Disney takes to the bank every day.

  6. Even if they gave you one for free, the maintenance and incidental fees alone (which average almost $1,000 a year and increase every year) for 30 years is fanancial lunacy. And if you visit every year (because you do have to justify that fee every year) the cost of tickets, food, travel, etc will easily cost you over $100,000 over the next 30 years.

    1. For those who do not want to go on a vacation every year a timeshare is not worth it.

      For those who want to vacation every year and need more than a hotel bedroom it can be a great deal if purchased for the right price.

      You exchange to places beyond Disney. In 13 years my family of 6 has spent $50,000 on about 55 weeks of timeshare vacation in two and three bedroom condos all over North America. If we had booked them at commercial rates it would have been over $125,000 over that timeframe. AirBnB, VRBOs or other deals can’t touch the savings.

      Paying full price, or even discount prices for timeshares if you don’t use them, is not a good use of the money.

      At $1000 / year if you received the actual unit for free, you would save $2000 to $10,000 for the week (Depends on which DVC Resort), these prices don’t include meal plans or park tickets. Price a two bedroom DVC condo on Expedia or on Disney’s website and you’ll see that your hypothetical $1000 is a great deal compared to booking it commercially.

      That’s what people who buy resale and exchange into other resorts like DVC are doing with RCI. But again use it and buy it for as close to zero as possible.

      1. The $1,000 hypothetical maintenance fee is below the average of DVC members for 2018. So most members are paying more than that. Also, annual fees increase every year an average of 4% (although Disney can raise maintenance fees as high as 15% annually every year). Even at a 4% annual increase the maintenance fee would steadily increase until it is exceeding $2,000 annually, and increasing, in just 10 years. So, if you have already spent $50,000 in 13 years, with just the average annual fee increases, you will spend at least another $75,000 over the remaining 17 years of your contract for a total of $125,000 on lodging alone. If you add all of the other costs associated with a DVC vacation, you will easily spend $350,000 or more during the life of your contract exclusively at Disney.

  7. Gee, another restrictive rule for a Time Share, opps I mean Disney Vacation Club, rental. There is no form of math on this or any other planet that calculates time sharing as anything other than a very bad, bad financial decision.

    1. Definitely true when you pay the full price for a timeshare. Savings are to be had buying at up to 99% off in the aftermarket. Not sure this protects DVC buyers, but it certainly protects the Disney company. The Mouse is getting too greedy and it will all collapse one day.