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 today, direct pricing at the following resorts has increased 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?
We have been DVC owners before Saratoga was built. We purchased 270 points. Over the years we accumulate 570 points two years ago right before Covid we sold Saratoga we still have AK points. It was great when my girls were younger. But as Disney started to change the disability thing to das. And now what was free fast pass to the genie plus for cost of 15.00 per day. It is becoming more difficult to justify paying the maintenance fee and not being able to buy annual passes. We pay re taxes and maintenance in Florida but they are not letting out of town DVC owners by the passes. That has curtailed our trips and now we are owners of a motorhome. Better value than DVC. I will not be buying anymore points. I think it’s just a wasted money. Considering the cost and money we put in . I could have bought a vacation home in Florida or motorhome sooner. It was a value keeping our disabled daughters healthy. But now no longer worth the charge especially when they cut DVC out of town owners out of the annual pass . The day I went to buy it , I did not look at the pass page. I knew what I wanted and called members service to be told they stop selling at midnight that day 11/21. Shame on them.