DVC Resale Restrictions,
Explained Honestly

A DVC resale restriction is a limit Disney places on contracts sold on the secondary market. Resale buyers can still book full vacations at the 14 original DVC resorts using their home resort and 7 month windows, but they cannot access certain member perks like Moonlight Magic, the Disney Collection, or merchandise discounts. Three resorts (Riviera, Fort Wilderness Cabins, and the Disneyland Hotel Villas) are also restricted, meaning resale points at those properties can only book back at the same resort.

Disney introduced the modern resale restrictions in January 2019. Contracts purchased on the resale market after that date no longer receive access to member only perks. Resort booking restrictions on Riviera, Fort Wilderness Cabins, and Disneyland Hotel Villas apply to any resale contract for those specific properties.

We won't pretend to read Disney's mind on why the restrictions exist. What we can observe is that the resale market has grown into a significant alternative to buying direct, and a thriving secondary market puts real pressure on Disney's direct sales bottom line. Each round of restrictions has arrived in that context.

Yes. You cannot book those resorts using your resale points, but you can still stay there as a paying guest or by renting points from another member. Many resale owners use the rental approach. They rent out their own points through an established rental service, then use the cash to book stays at the restricted resorts. The math often works in their favor because rental rates for the original 14 resorts are strong. The most established name in DVC point rentals is DVCRequest.com (David's Vacation Club Rentals), which has operated since 2005 and is independent of any resale brokerage. Our newer sister site DVCHomeResort.com is another option in this space.

Typical savings range from 40 to 60 percent compared to Disney's direct pricing. On a 160 point Saratoga Springs contract, that works out to roughly twenty thousand dollars. The exact savings depend on the resort, contract size, and current market conditions. Resorts like Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and Animal Kingdom tend to offer the largest resale discounts. Premium resorts like Grand Floridian and Polynesian show smaller percentage savings but larger dollar amounts in absolute terms.

For the vast majority of buyers, yes. The lost perks are real but most of them are either rarely used (the Disney Collection and World Collection programs offer poor point value), modest in dollar terms (small dining and merchandise discounts), or limited in availability (Moonlight Magic events have limited slots). The savings of fifteen to thirty thousand dollars on a typical contract dwarfs the lifetime value of the lost perks for most families.

Here is a practical way to think about it. If you buy a 160 point Saratoga Springs contract on resale and save $20,000 compared to direct, you would need to recoup $20,000 in lost perk value over the life of the contract to break even. A 10% dining discount on two table service meals per trip, twice a year, saves roughly $40 to $60 a year. At that rate it would take over 300 years of dining discounts to close the gap. The math is similar for merchandise discounts.

The core reason people buy DVC is to lock in future Disney resort stays at today's prices, and resale delivers that completely. I sold direct for Disney for 23 years before opening this brokerage, and the product is the same deeded real estate interest whether you buy it from Disney or on the secondary market.

Yes. The 11 month home resort booking advantage transfers fully to resale buyers. If you buy a Beach Club resale contract, you can book Beach Club 11 months in advance just like a direct buyer. The 7 month window for booking at any of the other 13 unrestricted resorts also transfers without limitation.

No. The DVC member Annual Pass, sometimes called the Sorcerer Pass, is a Membership Extra that requires direct purchase. To qualify, members must own at least 150 points purchased directly from Disney. Resale only buyers are not eligible.

If Annual Pass access is important to you, the typical workaround is to buy a small direct contract of 150 points and the rest on resale.

There are also credit card options worth knowing about. The Disney Inspire Visa ($149 annual fee) gives a $100 statement credit after $200 in qualifying purchases per anniversary year, and Annual Passes count as a qualifying purchase. Charging the AP to the Inspire card also earns 3% back in Disney Rewards Dollars on most U.S. Disney purchases, which works out to $30 to $45 back on a typical pass. The card also offers 0% intro APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages if you want to spread out the cost.

Beyond credit cards, Florida residents qualify for discounted pass tiers directly from Disney, and military families can access discounted tickets through Shades of Green. These options are available to everyone regardless of how you purchased your DVC contract.

Once a buyer and seller agree on price, Disney has 30 days to exercise Right of First Refusal. Disney can choose to buy the contract at the agreed price instead of letting the sale proceed. Disney exercises ROFR selectively, usually only on contracts priced significantly below market value. Most fairly priced contracts pass ROFR without issue. When Disney does exercise ROFR, they become the buyer. The original buyer is out of the deal, receives a full refund of their deposit, and DVCSales works to find them another contract that fits their criteria.

Most DVC resale closings take about 45 days from accepted offer to closing. A DVC resale is a real estate transaction, the same legal process as closing on a house. The timeline includes 30 days for Disney's Right of First Refusal, then title company processing, deed preparation, and account transfer with Disney.

Two things can extend that timeline. If the seller has a pending reservation on the contract, closing may be delayed until that vacation is completed. Aulani contracts have to pass through the state of Hawaii for processing, which can add an extra 10 days in some cases.

DVCSales monitors every step and keeps both buyer and seller updated throughout.

It depends on when the contract changes hands. If you bought resale before January 2019, your perks are grandfathered. But if that contract sells to a new buyer today, the new buyer gets the current restrictions. The restrictions follow the sale date, not the original contract date. Keep that in mind when you see older contracts on the market.

Every DVC contract has a home resort. At 11 months before check in, you can book rooms at your home resort before anyone else. At 7 months, the window opens to the full network of 14 unrestricted resorts, and all members compete for availability equally.

Resale buyers get the same 11 month priority and the same 7 month network access as direct buyers. The only catch is that resale contracts at Riviera, Fort Wilderness Cabins, or Disneyland Hotel can't book into the 7 month network at all. Those three are restricted to home resort only.

Yes. You can buy additional resale contracts any time you want. Many owners start with a smaller contract and add on later as their family grows or travel plans change. Each contract is a separate deed, so you can own at different home resorts.

You can also buy a small direct contract from Disney (minimum 75 to 150 points depending on the resort) to unlock direct member perks while keeping most of your points on resale. We see this hybrid approach a lot with experienced DVC owners.

Buyers pay closing costs and Disney's $500 administration fee (sometimes called the transfer fee). We don't charge buyers a broker fee. The seller pays our commission and Disney's $150 estoppel fee. Closing costs run $500 to $800 depending on the state. So your total out of pocket beyond the purchase price is usually $1,000 to $1,300.

Yes. Resale buyers can sell their contracts at any time during ownership. The resale market for DVC contracts is active and your contract retains real value. DVCSales offers seller listings at a 6.9 percent commission, the lowest in the industry, with no upfront fees.