Disney Vacation Club appears to be going all-in on Riviera and Grand Floridian by significantly raising the price of multiple sold-out resorts on Thursday – March 24th!
Beginning tomorrow, direct pricing at the following resorts is rumored to increase for both existing and new members to the following levels:
| Resort | Previous Direct Price | NEW Direct Price | Increase |
| Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas | $186 | $200 | + $14 |
| Disney’s Old Key West Resort | $180 | $200 | + $20 |
| Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa | $180 | $200 | + $20 |
These significant increases solidify Disney Vacation Club’s desire to aggressively push sales of their current active selling properties, versus older “legacy” sold-out resorts. By moving Animal Kingdom, Saratoga, and Old Key West to this level (arguably the most popular and most requested sold-out resorts), we will likely begin to see direct sales guides pushing the reasons to purchase Riviera, Grand Floridian, or Aulani due to the value those provide as compared to older properties.
This change also immediately provides a huge opportunity to those buyers looking to purchase one of these properties via the DVC resale market. As of February 2022, Animal Kingdom was averaging $143 per point via resale, representing a $57 per point savings or approximately 29% savings as compared to the new sold-out direct pricing! Potential buyers should act now as resale pricing typically reacts to these direct price increases within a few weeks to a month.
Here’s a look at the current difference between direct and average resale pricing for all Disney Vacation Club properties, taking these new increases into consideration:
| Resort | Resale (Based on Feb. ’22 Sales Data | Direct* (Disney Vacation Development) | Difference Per Point (Direct – Resale) | Percentage Savings with Resale |
| Animal Kingdom | $143 | $200 (As of March 24th) | $57 | 29% |
| Aulani | $127 | $207 | $80 | 39% |
| Bay Lake Tower | $174 | $245 | $71 | 29% |
| Beach Club | $172 | $265 | $93 | 35% |
| Boardwalk | $148 | $230 | $82 | 36% |
| Boulder Ridge | $121 | $190 | $69 | 36% |
| Copper Creek | $171 | $225 | $54 | 24% |
| Grand Californian | $301 | $310 | $9 | 3% |
| Grand Floridian | $194 | $207 | $13 | 6% |
| Hilton Head | $98 | $155 | $57 | 37% |
| Old Key West | $125 | $200 (As of March 24th) | $75 | 38% |
| Polynesian | $170 | $250 | $80 | 32% |
| Riviera Resort | $146 | $207 | $61 | 29% |
| Saratoga Springs | $134 | $200 (As of March 24th) | $66 | 33% |
| Vero Beach | $84 | $140 | $56 | 40% |
Follow along on the DVC Fan Facebook Group for more discussion of these increases! Let us know in the comments: What do you think the motivation is for raising sold-out resort pricing at this time? How do you think this will impact DVC resale? Does this increase make you more likely to buy resale or direct?
How does this work if contracts for OKW expire 2042 or 2057. Is the $200 for what term!
All OKW points bought directly from DVC have the 2057 expiration date.