Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It?
Is Disney Vacation Club worth it? You may be asking yourself this question after your last Disney vacation. We explain how Disney Vacation Club works, the resorts included, the cost of a Disney Vacation Club membership, and the benefits of buying direct vs. resale. We also show you how to break down your current costs and compare them to projected costs of becoming a DVC member. This will help you answer the question, “Is Disney Vacation Club worth it?”
How Does Disney Vacation Club Work?
What is Disney Vacation Club exactly? And how does it work? Well, it’s Disney’s version of a timeshare essentially. You buy in with an initial contract that has a certain amount of points that you get each year at a Deluxe Disney Resort until the deed on your contract expires. Deed expiration dates vary per resort and we discuss more in depth below.
You get access to book at any of the Disney Vacation Club resorts at 7 months, but your home resort is where you get top priority to book at 11 months out from your trip. The timeshare also includes a “use year”. The use year is the month in which you receive any new points for the year. For example, if you have a 200 point Animal Kingdom contract with a use year of December, then every December you get 200 points to use. You will also have to have used your 200 points by the next November 30. If you plan to borrow or bank points, you will need to do that at certain times of the year depending on your use year. Check out our Use Year guide for more details.
Disney Vacation Club Resorts
So what resorts are included as Disney Vacation Club Resorts? Essentially it is all of Disney’s Deluxe Resorts. We’ve listed them in groups below: Walt Disney World DVC Resorts, Disneyland DVC Resorts, and Around The World DVC Resorts.
Walt Disney World Resorts
Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani and Jambo
Bay Lake Tower
Beach Club
Boardwalk Inn & Villas
Boulder Ridge (Wilderness Lodge)
Copper Creek (Wilderness Lodge)
Grand Floridian
Old Key West
Polynesian
Riviera
Saratoga Springs
Disneyland Resorts
DVC Resorts Around The World
DVC Resorts Around The World
Aulani (located in Hawaii)
Hilton Head (South Carolina)
Vero Beach (Florida)
How Much Is a DVC Membership
The total cost of a Disney Vacation Club membership includes the cost of a contract, annual dues, and loan interest costs when financing the purchase.
Contract Cost
The first, and largest, cost you will incur is the cost of the contract you buy. Overall, the more points you purchase, the more your cost will be. Secondly, the resort you buy into will also determine the cost of your contract. Some resorts are more sought after than other DVC resorts, and will reflect that price per point. We have included a chart for average costs for each DVC resort. It includes two columns: resale and direct. Buying directly from Disney will always increase your contract cost.
It’s important to note that the prices listed below are an average price per point. You may find contracts that are lower or higher than this price point based on size of contract, points available to use right away, etc.
| Resort | Resale Price | Direct Price |
| Animal Kingdom | $109 per point | $186 per point |
| Bay Lake Tower | $146 per point | $235 per point |
| Beach Club | $150 per point | $235 per point |
| Boardwalk | $134 per point | $200 per point |
| Boulder Ridge | $107 per point | $186 per point |
| Copper Creek | $154 per point | $220 per point |
| Grand Floridian | $170 per point | $255 per point |
| Old Key West | $106 per point | $165 per point |
| Polynesian | $148 per point | $235 per point |
| Riviera | $160 per point | $195 per point |
| Saratoga Springs | $104 per point | $165 per point |
Other Disney Vacation Club Resorts (off WDW property)
| Resort | Resale Price | Direct Price |
| Aulani | $92 per point | $193 per point |
| Grand Californian | $183 per point | $280 per point |
| Hilton Head | $81 per point | $135 per point |
| Vero Beach | $68 per point | $120 per point |
Annual Dues
When calculating cost, you will want to remember annual dues. Each Disney Vacation Club resort has a different dollar amount due per point each year. You can pay it all by January 15 of each year or you can pay it over the course of the year. Overall, the more points you have, the more annual dues you will have. And the resort you choose also affects the amount of annual dues. Below is a chart for annual dues for each resort:
| Home Resorts Available | 2020 Annual Dues |
| Animal Kingdom | $7.67 |
| Aulani | $8.33 |
| Bay Lake Tower | $6.58 |
| Beach Club | $7.06 |
| Boardwalk | $7.37 |
| Boulder Ridge | $7.78 |
| Copper Creek | $7.45 |
| Grand Californian | $6.60 |
| Grand Floridian | $6.56 |
| Hilton Head | $9.10 |
| Old Key West | $7.84 |
| Polynesian | $6.79 |
| Saratoga Springs | $6.77 |
| Riviera | $8.31 |
| Vero Beach | $10.13 |
For example, over time, you will pay more per year for a 100 point Vero Beach contract than for a 100 point Saratoga Springs contract.
Loan or Mortgage Costs
Not everyone takes out a mortgage for their Disney Vacation Club contract. If you do decide to get a loan, Monera Financial is number one in DVC financing and DVC loans, and we highly recommend working with their friendly staff. However, if you do not buy a contract outright, of course your annual costs will increase based on the loan you get. Just like the annual dues, your annual loan costs will increase as your contract amount increases. You can take a tax deduction on any interest you pay. However, this is definitely a cost you will want to include when you are trying to see if Disney Vacation Club is worth it for your family.
Actual Disney Visits
This is the hidden factor that most DVC members forget to add into their equation. So, if you get a DVC membership contract, depending on how many points you get and where you choose to use them, you may be able to take several trips to Disney in a year. This sounds great, and it is! However, with more trips, means you also need to add in more annual costs for theme park tickets, dining, and transportation. At some point, you may want to look into becoming an annual passholder if you are visiting Disney several times a year, this way you save money on tickets and dining costs.
There are other options for extra DVC points. One is to rent out the points you don’t need. Another is to bank them into next year and you can get a larger room or stay longer next year too. There are lots of options with Disney Vacation Club points.
What is Included in a DVC Membership
Disney offers several benefits to becoming a Disney Vacation Club member. These benefits will vary slightly depending on if you buy directly from Disney or if you buy a DVC membership off of the DVC resale market.
Direct DVC Membership Benefits
Buying directly from Disney offers all of the benefits available to DVC members. However, Disney has put a rule in place that to get these benefits, the contract must have at least 100 points in the contract. These DVC benefits include:
- Disney Cruise Line
- Adventures By Disney
- Concierge Collection
- Discounts on Theme park tickets
- Member cruises
- Discounts on shopping, dining, and recreation.
- Exclusive Member events
- Don’t pay resort tax
- Don’t pay resort parking
- Access to Top of the world lounge
- Home resort priority
- Can book stays through RCI and Buena Vista Trading company
- Get in early to parties (Mickey’s Not So Scary, etc.) 2pm instead of 4pm
Resale DVC membership Benefits
Resale DVC memberships still include access to the Top Of The World Lounge, early access into special events, and access to DVC member events. Depending when the membership was bought, you may stay at other DVC resorts other than your home resort.
- Don’t pay resort tax
- Don’t pay resort parking
- Access to Top of the world lounge
- Home resort priority
- Can book stays through RCI and Buena Vista Trading company
- Get in early to parties (Mickey’s Not So Scary, etc.) 2pm instead of 4pm
- Stay at other DVC resorts that are not your home resort (depends on when contract was bought)
Is A DVC Membership Worth It?
The best way to determine if a DVC Membership is worth it for you is to compare your present annual cost vs. your projected costs with a DVC membership. We help walk you through all projected costs of a Disney Vacation Club membership. This may be the most important part of determining if a DVC membership is worth your investment.
Your equation should be set up like this:
Current Annual Cost of Disney = DVC Annual Cost of Disney
Current Annual Cost of Disney
This may be the easiest part of the equation. You simply add up your current annual cost of Disney trips. You most definitely want to include reservations. And we highly recommend you also add in dining costs, theme park tickets and more. This will be one side of the equation. The following costs are your costs after becoming a DVC member.
DVC Annual Cost of Disney
To get the Annual Cost of a DVC Membership, you will need to add up several equations. Your DVC Annual Cost of Disney equation should look like this:
DVC Annual Cost of Disney = (Contract Cost/Contract years left) + Annual Dues + Loan Costs + Disney Visits
Contract Cost
To get a true annual DVC contract cost, we will find the contract cost divided by the contract years left. Let’s start with the contract cost and choose the resort you prefer with the estimated contract cost times the amount of points you prefer. Your equation for a contract cost should look like this:
Resort Price Per Point * Amount of points
Example: Animal Kingdom 200 point contract, buying resale would look like:
$109 * 200 = $21,800
Please refer to the chart listed above that has resorts by resale vs. direct price. Now divide that contract amount by the amount of years left on that contract. To find the amount of years left on the contract, take the deed expiration and subtract the current year:
Animal Kingdom example: 2057 – 2020 = 37 more years
$21,800 (full contract cost) divided by 37 years = $589.19 per year
| Resort | Deed Expiration |
| Animal Kingdom | 2057 |
| Aulani | 2062 |
| Bay Lake Tower | 2060 |
| Beach Club | 2042 |
| Boardwalk | 2042 |
| Boulder Ridge | 2042 |
| Copper Creek | 2068 |
| Grand Californian | 2060 |
| Grand Floridian | 2064 |
| Hilton Head | 2042 |
| Old Key West | 2042 or 2057 |
| Polynesian | 2066 |
| Riviera Resort | 2070 |
| Saratoga Springs | 2054 |
| Vero Beach | 2042 |
| * All Deeds Expire on Jan. 31st of respected year |
Annual Dues
Your annual dues equation will look like this:
Amount of Points in contract * 2020 Annual Dues
We will again use the 200 point Animal Kingdom as an example: 200*$7.67 = $1534 per year.
Loan or Mortgage Costs
This cost will be determined by when you get your loan and who you get it through. We cannot give you a cost on this especially as amortization, late fees, and failure to pay can also increase your costs. This is just an important cost to remember when adding everything up.
Actual Disney Visits
Add in what you estimate for annual costs for theme park tickets, dining, and transportation. If you plan to be an annual passholder, add in those savings too.
So, let’s take our 200 point Animal Kingdom example:
DVC Annual Cost of Disney (only you know this amount) = $589.19 per year + $1534 per year in annual Dues + Loan Costs (varies by situation) + Disney Visit costs
How Do You Become A Disney Vacation Club Member?
We recommend a few things before you become a Disney Vacation Club member. First, research. All too often, we hear of DVC members who joined without knowing exactly what they were joining. We definitely recommend you read Should You Purchase a DVC Membership Or Rent Points. A few other good informational tools include Why Your DVC Home Resort Matters [For Your Wallet & Experience] and How To Try A DVC Resort Before Buying into Disney Vacation Club. Secondly, visit Disney Vacation Club’s preview center at Saratoga Springs (DVC Resort). You can see several different resort room set ups and get more of an idea what you will need to buy contract wise for your family.
Disney Vacation Club Direct
To purchase a Disney Vacation Club contract directly, you will need to contact Disney Vacation Club. This can be done several ways: through their website, in Disney theme parks, at DVC Resorts, at Disney Springs, and on Disney Cruises. All you need to do is look for the Disney Vacation Club sign, and a representative should be working onsite and can help you. If you stop at the DVC Resort you are interested in buying with, the representative can show you the rooms for that resort. I recommend calling ahead and setting up a tour. If you are unsure which Disney Vacation Club resort you are interested in, you can always stop by Saratoga Springs. They have a Disney Vacation Club preview area where you can see rooms from each resort.
Disney Vacation Club Resale
If you are interested in buying a Disney Vacation Club through resale, we recommend DVC Resale Market. You can browse their website, chat online with one of their representatives, or reach out to any of their sales reps. Everyone on their team is super helpful and friendly! The majority of them have worked as DVC reps for Disney and so they really know what they are doing.
