Sell or Buy Disney Vacation Club Points

Because the Disney Vacation Club timeshare program is a points-based program, the price of a Disney timeshare varies depending on the resort. Timeshare ownership is based on your home resort, with points deeded to a specific resort, so points for one Disney resort may cost more than points for a different resort. Plus, it may take more points to stay in one resort at certain times of the year than at a different resort.

For example, a one-bedroom villa for a week in January at Disney's Old Key West Resort would use 157 points, whereas a January week in a standard view one-bedroom at Grand Floridian would use 247 points. Buying through Disney, the points for Old Key West are $156 per point with a 50 point minimum purchase for new members. The points for Grand Floridian cost $245 per point with a 100 point minimum. It doesn’t take a math major to see the difference, especially with the difference in the amount of points required to stay at a resort.

The great part about you reading this is that you can save big money by buying on the resale market. Owners are advertising their Disney Old Key West points for sale on the resale market for as little as $95 per point, a major discount over buying through Disney. Grand Floridian points have gone for around $145 per point, with some existing DVC members looking to the resale market to top up their existing point allotments.

For the devoted fans of all things Disney, the answer is an easy yes. What makes the Disney timeshare product unique from every other timeshare program in the world is the draw to the Disney brand that has been a part of global entertainment for nearly a century. No other timeshare hospitality brand has the power of the Disney theme parks to support its Club program. The allure of an annual trip to Disney has been a focus for families for generations.

The Disney timeshare program is based on a points system, so the key is how the DVC points are purchased in the first place. With discounts on the timeshare resale market ranging from 40% to as much as 60% off Disney retail prices, buyers need to start on the resale market and work from there.

Disney promotes the benefits of buying through them, but are they really enticing enough to offset the discounts you can get on the resale market? Disney mentions items such as access to discounts for Disney Cruise Line, certain Disney hotels, member events, and discounts on dining and merchandise. But are these really worth the added thousands of dollars it would cost to buy Disney timeshare points through the company? You decide.

Since so much depends on the home resort, do your research on which resort would be your home base. There can be a significant cost difference based on the resort you choose as your home resort, but in the end, it is really about the overall Disney experience that determines the worth of Disney timeshare ownership.

Buyers become a member of the Disney Vacation Club by buying points deeded to a specific resort within the Disney timeshare resort network. You would choose a resort that best matches your vacation needs, determining criteria such as the size of the unit needed, proximity to your favorite theme park, amenities, etc.

Calculate the number of points you would need to stay in your desired unit at a given resort. For instance, you would need 301 points for a week in a 2-bedroom unit at Disney's BoardWalk Villas Resort during most of the summer weeks. The beauty of this Club program is that you can split up your use into a smaller number of days if you’d rather not vacation for an entire week, or take multiple trips.

Once you have selected your resort and have a number of points in mind to purchase, start looking for the best bargains available on the Disney resale market. Major discounts can be seen on the resale market, with points at Disney's BoardWalk Villas going for as little as $110 per point, compared to the new sale price of $190 per point through Disney.

After you have purchased your allotment of points, you can plan your vacation by either calling Disney or going online through their membership portal to book your reservation using your points.

You can use your points to stay in either your home resort or the majority of the Disney timeshare resorts within the network, provided you have enough points to use. You can book as far out as 11 months at your home resort or 7 months for other DVC resorts.

Points can also be banked for future use or borrowed from future years in order to plan for special occasions when you may need a larger unit at a special time of the year. This is important since points are allotted each year for use during each membership year, with unused points expiring at the end of the year.

Keep in mind that Disney points are not in perpetuity, meaning that the original buyer would have purchased their points on a 50-year use agreement. This is one reason why resale points can be so discounted, so check with the seller to find out the remaining years on the use of their points.

There are also annual fees associated with ownership, which are assessed per point and can be paid monthly or annually. Fees can cost from $6.56 to $8.53 per point.

Sort of, but not in the traditional sense. Disney Vacation Club is a points-based club program that can operate more like a travel club than a traditional timeshare operation. Timeshares usually operate by owners buying a part of a resort and using their designated week of time in that resort to vacation.

One similarity is that a timeshare week and Disney Vacation Club points are both deeded real estate products, with Disney points deeded to a specific DVC resort. However, where the timeshare owner would use their week at a specific resort each year, Disney members can use their points at either their home resort or at a majority of the resorts within the DVC network.

Disney points act more like a type of vacation currency, where you would use the points to book a vacation unit. Depending on the amount of points you own, you can use your points to book from a variety of types of accommodations, from studios to three-bedroom villas. Traditional timeshare ownership places you in a specific unit during the same week of the year at the same resort.

This depends on the terms that you purchased your Disney Vacation Club timeshare. If you bought through Disney and took out a loan for the purchase, then you’ll be paying the principal plus interest on that purchase. Interest rates can be as high as 14 percent on loans up to 10 years. Loans would be paid back monthly.

Disney resales operate differently, as most resale purchasers buy Disney Vacation Club points outright without the need to take out a loan. In the cases where the points have been bought upfront, the ongoing monthly commitment comes down to the annual maintenance fees attached to your points.

Fees can be paid yearly in one lump sum or paid monthly. Annual fees range from about $6.56 to $8.53 per point, depending on your home resort. For a 100 point package, that would be between $54.66 and $71.08 per month.

Remember that the majority of Disney timeshare resorts require over 100 points to stay in most units for a week; for example, a studio unit at Disney’s Beach Club Villas requires 107 points during the low season weeks. Keep in mind that the DVC website advertises monthly fees starting at $70 per month, mainly because of minimum point levels required when purchased through Disney.

Disney Vacation Club membership includes points that are purchased which act as vacation currency, allowing you to use those points to stay in resorts within the Disney timeshare network.

DVC points are deeded to specific resorts, called your home resort, which gives your preferred access to that resort. Points can also be used to book accommodation at other Disney Vacation Club resorts in Orlando, Hilton Head, Vero Beach, Anaheim or Hawaii.

Points purchased directly through Disney include Membership Extras such as dates for after-hours visits, member events, savings on Disney Cruise Line cruises and discounts on dining, shopping for Disney merchandise and tours. Such extras are not included with resale points purchases, but the buyer should ask themselves if such perks are worth paying the extra thousands of dollars that Disney would charge if points were bought through their company.

Disney Vacation Club membership does not include tickets to the Disney theme parks. However, Disney is known to offer discounts to members on annual passes to the parks. Exclusive ticketed events such as Moonlight Magic for after-hours visits are also available to purchase. These discounts would only be available to members who purchased points through Disney.

The primary benefit of Disney Vacation Club membership is securing spacious vacation units on Disney property on an annual basis for years of fantastic vacations. With prices for vacation accommodation on the rise every year, you can buy into the DVC membership program and secure future accommodation at today’s prices for your entire family.

Because this is a points-based membership, you can use your points to book multi-room, condo-style vacation units with multiple bedrooms, large living spaces, kitchens and access to great amenities. This is what sets Disney timeshare resorts apart from other area resorts and, especially, the cramped hotel spaces that dot the central Florida landscape.

One fun perk is known as “pool-hopping”, where members can “hop” from one pool at a Disney timeshare resort to another at a different resort. Some resorts do not allow this option, buy many such as Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney's Beach Club Villas are available for this option.

You can also use your points at DVC resorts outside of central Florida, with the possibility of a beach holiday in Vero Beach, a golf outing in Hilton Head, visiting Anaheim for a trip to Disneyland or saying Aloha to Hawaii. Additionally, owners can join exchange company RCI and exchange the use of their Disney timeshare points for a resort stay in one of the 4,000 resorts in the RCI global network. Since you’ve already paid for your accommodation, this is a fantastic way to expand the use of Disney Vacation Club ownership.

Disney Vacation Club membership is not in perpetuity, meaning it is not an endless commitment for the member. Membership agreements may be as long as 50 years, which starts on the initial opening date of the home resort to which points are deeded.

Owners who purchased Disney points when the resort opened would have the full 50 years available to them, as long as they continue with their annual membership obligations. Owners who sell their points on the resale market would be selling the balance of the time remaining on the agreement, so the resale buyer would have use of the points for the remainder of the agreement.

Disney routinely reaches out to members to gauge interest in buying an extension to their agreement, often for an additional 15 years. Resale buyers could have access to extending the timeframe of an agreement but would need to check with Disney to make sure.

Disney Vacation Club does not have an internal resale unit designated to help with resales, so they refer to third-party resale companies to help owners looking to sell their Disney timeshare.

You can cancel your Disney Vacation Club membership during the 10 day rescission period if you submit a written request to Disney within 10 days of your original purchase through them. Otherwise, there is an option using so-called cancellation or timeshare exit companies, but they are dubious at best. The Missouri Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the operator of several timeshare exit companies, and the Washington Attorney General did the same against one of the largest exit companies in the country.

Realistically, Disney timeshares are very popular and hold their resale value better than any other brand of timeshares in the world. There really isn’t a reason to cancel when you can put them up for sale on the resale market and make good money back to offset a portion of your original purchase price.