Is DVC Worth It For Gen Z & Millennials in 2024?

Are you a Gen Z or Millennial wondering if DVC is worth it for you? You have arrived at the right blog post!

‘Is DVC worth it?’ and ‘Is DVC worth it for Gen Z and Millennials?’ are two different questions.

Sure, they’re both referring to the potential value of Disney Vacation Club – Disney’s unique timeshare program.

But, the answer to this question depends significantly on which generation you are a part of.

For reference, you are a Millennial if you were born between 1981 and 1996, and you are a Gen Z if you were born between 1997 and 2012.

(If you are part of Gen Z and are under 18, you cannot become a Disney Vacation Club member, but if you are a Gen Z adult, you are eligible to become a Disney Vacation Club member).

Many Disney fans have parents or grandparents who are DVC members. But what about younger Disney fans?

I officially became a Disney Vacation Club member in July 2023 – two days before I turned 19.

I didn’t have any friends or family members who were DVC members, so at that time, I didn’t even have first-hand experience to know for sure if DVC was worth it in general – never mind for me as a young member.

But after a few Disney Vacation Club stays, I have answered these questions I thought about before becoming a member.

As a Gen Z DVC member, I have a few reasons why Disney Vacation Club is – and maybe isn’t – worth it for the younger generations in 2024.

This post is all about answering this question: ‘Is DVC worth it for Gen Z and Millennials?’.

Is DVC Worth It For Gen Z & Millennials?

What is Disney Vacation Club and How Does Disney Vacation Club Work?

Disney Vacation Club is a flexible points-based timeshare program, that has existed since 1991 – with the opening of Old Key West.

If you are a Millennial or Gen Z, Disney Vacation Club may even be older than you!

If you become a DVC Member, you are purchasing a real estate interest in a DVC Resort (these are usually Deluxe, but not strictly, now that The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness are becoming a DVC Resort).

You purchase a set number of points at your Home Resort, and then spend them on your vacation at the Disney Vacation Club Resorts.

Your Home Resort is where you get 11-month booking priority (so you essentially have “first dibs” at that Resort). 7 months before your stay, you can swap to another DVC Resort (subject to availability).

By becoming a DVC Member, you essentially pre-pay for your vacations years/decades in advance (contracts can last for up to 50 years – depending on your Home Resort).

After purchasing your contract, you pay annual dues for the maintenance of your property (from $7.34 to $13.86 per point – depending on your home resort – based on 2024 prices).

DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice, and DVC is a timeshare – not an investment (even though there are a number of members who have profited by selling their DVC contracts. Of course, this is never guaranteed, and DVC contracts can decrease/fluctuate in price).

Which Disney Resorts are Disney Vacation Club Resorts?

Disney’s Old Key West Resort (Est. 1991)

Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (Est. 1994)

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (Est. 1995)
Disney’s Hilton Head Resort (Est. 1996)
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas (Est. 1996)

Disney’s Beach Club Villas (Est. 2002)

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (Est. 2004)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House (Est. 2007)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village (Est. 2009)

Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (Est. 2009)

The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian (Est. 2009)
Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa (Est. 2011)
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Est. 2013)

Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (Est. 2015)

Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (Est. 2017)

Disney’s Riviera Resort (Est. 2019)

The Villas at Disneyland Hotel (Est. 2023)

What are the DVC Deed Expiration Dates for Each Resort?

Disney’s Old Key West Resort – January 31st, 2042 or January 31st, 2057 (depending on the contract, as some members were able to extend their contracts by 15 years).
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – January 31st, 2042
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort – January 31st, 2042
Disney’s Hilton Head Resort – January 31st, 2042
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas – January 31st, 2042
Disney’s Beach Club Villas – January 31st, 2042
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa – January 31st, 2054
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo & Kidani – January 31st, 2057
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort – January 31st, 2060
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian – January 31st, 2060
Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa – January 31st, 2062
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – January 31st, 2064
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows – January 31st, 2066
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – January 31st, 2068
Disney’s Riviera Resort – January 31st, 2070
The Villas at Disneyland Hotel – January 31st, 2074

I’m a Gen Z/Millennial. Should I Become a Disney Vacation Club Member?

In order to figure out if DVC is worth it for you, you should consider and answer the following questions:

1) How often do you want to visit Disney?

This is an important question. If you only want to visit Disney once every five years, DVC isn’t going to be worth it for you.

But, if you want to vacation at Disney every two years at the most, DVC may make your Disney Resort stays more affordable.

2) Do you plan on taking Disney vacations for the next few decades?

DVC contracts last for a long time. Even if you purchased a contract with a 2042 expiration date, that’s a lot of Disney vacations between then and now.

If you can’t see yourself vacationing at Disney in 20-50 years, DVC may not be worth it for you.

3) Are you already visiting Disney frequently?

If you’re already visiting Disney World / Disneyland (as most of the DVC Resorts by these these theme parks), you may already be spending a lot on hotels. Paying annual dues every year could be significantly less than your hotel bills.

You may also need to take into consideration where you live. For example, if you don’t live near the DVC Resorts – or even live in a different country (like me) – this may impact how often you can visit.

If not, you should be aware of the transport costs associated with you staying at the DVC Resorts (e.g. flights).

4) Do you/would you like to stay in Deluxe Resorts?

If you’re already staying at Deluxe Disney Resorts every year, DVC will probably save you quite a lot.

This can also be the case if you currently stay at Moderate Resorts.

If you don’t currently stay at Deluxe Disney Resorts, but would like to for many decades, becoming a Disney Vacation Club Member can often be the most inexpensive way to do so.

5) Should you purchase a Direct or Resale DVC Contract?

A direct contract is where you purchase from Disney directly.

A resale contract is sold is where you buy it from a current member (usually through another company, such as DVC Resale Market or The Timeshare Store Inc).

Usually, purchasing a resale contract can save you up to (approximately) 50% on your initial purchase price.

So, what’s the appeal of purchasing a direct contract? The perks – such as, discounted annual passes, dining/shopping discounts and exclusive events and lounges etc.

I purchased a 100-point resale contract for Old Key West, so I can’t speak too much to the direct benefits.

If you are a Gen Z or Millennial on a budget, resale contracts are probably the best way to go.

6) Have you considered the Resale Restrictions of Resale DVC Contracts?

If you purchase a resale contract on or after January 19th, 2019, you will only be able to stay at the original 14 DVC Resorts. You will not be able to stay at Disney’s Riviera Resort, The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort or any future DVC properties.

Also, if you owned a DVC Contract at Riviera, and re-sold it in the future (before 2070), the new member would only be able to use the points to stay at their Home Resort (in this example, Riviera).

This may impact the resale value throughout the years of these contracts.

7) Could you pay in cash or would you need to finance?

This debate gets pretty heated in the DVC community: to finance or not to finance?

I didn’t finance my contract, so admittedly, I don’t know all the details about financing.

But if you did decide to finance your DVC contract, keep in mind that the interest rates can be pretty high (often between 10% and 15%). If you have student loans or other debt, this may be an unappealing option.

And if you are paying in cash, think about the opportunity cost. Could that cash be better spent on something else? Are you saving for something more important or urgent than a DVC contract?

Of course, this all depends on your financial situation, as becoming a DVC member is a big financial commitment.

This is an interesting video, which compares financing vs paying in cash for your DVC contract:

8) Can you commit to paying annual dues?

On top of your initial purchase price, you have to pay annual dues. If you can’t commit to paying this every year at the moment, becoming a DVC member probably isn’t the best option.

But, you could sell your DVC points to cover your annual dues if this was necessary, through companies like DVC Rental Store, David’s Vacation Club Rentals and DVC Shop Rentals.

But if you sold your DVC points every year, it would be pretty pointless (pun intended) becoming a DVC member, as you would never get to vacation at Disney on your points.

9) How many points can you afford?

I know, we all want thousands of points to stay in Grand Villas.

But the reality is that most of us will start of with modest contracts and staying in Studios.

dvc member — A Studio at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

That’s absolutely fine! If you’re a Gen Z or Millennial, remember you can always buy more contracts in the future, and accumulate more DVC points overtime.

In fact, I think it’s beneficial to purchase a relatively small DVC contract (100 ish points – maybe a little more or less), and try it out before you commit to even more points and annual dues.

It’s also worth looking at Point Charts to see how much you could get each year for your amount of points. In addition, it’s helpful to research the prices of contracts at each Resort – as this can vary drastically.

10) Have you considered which Resort you want to be your Home Resort?

Your Home Resort allows you 11-month booking priority. If you want to stay at Beach Club in a Studio every trip, owning at Animal Kingdom Villas isn’t going to be very helpful. At 7-months, trying to get a Studio at Beach Club is very difficult, so you need to own a contract there to guarantee it.

If you don’t mind where you stay each time, this is less of a problem, but it’s still worth researching before you commit to one Resort!

Also, remember if you’re primarily going to Disney World, you’ll want to a Home Resort in the Walt Disney World Area.

Similarly, if you’re primarily visiting Disneyland, you’ll want a Home Resort by those parks.

If you’re purchasing at Aulani, Hilton Head or Vero Beach, be aware that it may be more difficult for you to use your points at the Disney World and Disneyland DVC Resorts. This is one reason for their generally lower purchase prices – along with some of them (particularly Vero Beach and Hilton Head) having higher annual dues, as they are beach resorts).

11) How long will it take you to “break even” on a DVC contract?

In a lot of cases, it takes people 4-6 years to “break even” on their DVC contract. Though this can depend on a number of factors, including your Home Resort, purchase price and whether you bought a Resale or Direct contract.

This helpful video explores this in more detail (and helped me to decide that DVC would be worth it for me):

Ta Ta For Now

So, my biggest piece of advise for Gen Z and Millennials thinking about becoming DVC Members is research, research, research!

Disney Vacation Club isn’t complicated, but there’s still a lot you should know before making the commitment.

So, read and watch Disney Vacation Club reviews and take some time to work out if Disney Vacation Club is right for you!

Since becoming a DVC member, I have been able to stay in villas and at resorts I wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise, so it has definitely been worth it for me.

But only you can determine the answer to the question: ‘Is DVC worth it for you?’.

I hope this has been helpful, and let me know if you do or don’t decide to become a Disney Vacation Club Member! ✨