We know Disney Vacation Club contracts can cost much less than buying from Disney Vacation Club directly. Prices vary by resort but it’s possible to save thousands with resale. There are some restrictions when you buy resale, like no DVC discounts or events, but Members get the same amazing deluxe resort hotel stays. The one hold up can be the Right of First Refusal, or ROFR, buy backs. This is a regular part of the DVC resale buying and selling process. When a Member wants to sell DVC contract and they find a buyer, Disney is given the first opportunity to purchase the contract back at the price that’s been agreed upon. This doesn’t really change things for the seller but it can change everything for the buyer. Let’s say a potential DVC resale buyer finds the perfect contract but DVC decides to buy the contract back instead. At this point, the buyer will have to find a new contract to buy. DVC Resale Experts is always ready to help in this case! Of course, it’s easier when a sale goes through on the first try. This leads us to the current situation DVC resale buyers are in. In the first few months of 2023, all contracts are going through to buyers. Disney is not buying back through ROFR at this time. Why isn’t DVC buying back points these days? There are quite a few different factors that could be at play.
So why isn’t DVC buying back points right now?
Every month, we share a blog post with the ROFR statistics from the month before. We include which resorts Disney decided to buy back and the highest price that was paid for each. The point of this is to help buyers get an idea for which resorts DVC may be most interested in at any given time. There is no guarantee but we can follow trends and pay close attention to try to give buyers the best experience possible. Your time is valuable and if pricing your bid on a contract right helps your DVC resale contract sale go through the first time, it’s worth it.
We started to see buybacks slow down in December of 2022 with just two contracts at Copper Creek going back to Disney. Then in January of 2023, everything stopped. Disney bought no contracts back at all. We hadn’t seen this before. Then, more of the same in February and March. Disney didn’t buy a single contract back. This, along with the number of contracts on the DVC resale market, makes it an exciting time to be a potential buyer. So why isn’t Disney buying back points? How long will this pause in DVC resale buybacks continue? We don’t have concrete answers but we can consider things Disney has said and done recently and make some educated guesses.
Leadership Changes at The Walt Disney Company May Be a Cause
There could be a few different answers to this but Disney is having a moment right now. After the big leadership change in the fall of 2022, restructuring began behind the scenes. Disney shared bits and pieces of information about their plans but mostly the big picture. In early 2023, things played out publicly as Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger followed through with another round of layoffs. This time around, 7000 people were expected to lose their jobs. Many of the first announced were names high up within the company, some well known among Disney fans. A division at Marvel was deemed redundant, layoffs followed and responsibilities were said to fall within existing Disney areas.
Other entire parts of the company were dissolved, with those associated being laid off, including the metaverse team. This was enthusiastically pursued by Bob Chapek during his short time as CEO. The Disney metaverse was still being developed but it was adjacent to what Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and others have talked about. Some kind of digital landscape that served as entertainment and a connection point with commerce components woven in. Kind of a stretch for Disney if you ask me. Chapek was also pushing for an Amazon Prime type service for Disney and that seems to be cancelled as this round of layoffs leaves people and concepts behind. This is another idea that hadn’t been clearly spelled out for consumers but was clearly a profit first initiative.
With so many cuts, hiring freezes and changes happening, it’s no surprise Disney isn’t buying back contracts. Josh D’Amaro recently commented that the parks had plenty of money to invest. With all that’s been going on in the news, it doesn’t really feel like it? The current climate at The Walt Disney Company is one of change and reduction in many areas. You wouldn’t immediately know it in the parks as things seem to continue to improve, albeit quite slowly, after a rocky few years. As a fan, I’m hopeful these changes will steer Disney back to its main focuses of great films and amazing theme parks, cruise ships and destination experiences.
What do all of these changes mean for Disney Vacation Club? Who knows how DVC is being affected by the current changes at the company. It’s not something that’s openly talked about. There are three rounds of layoffs total in this current wave. We don’t know if any of this means change for DVC. Note that frontline cast members are not expected to be affected by the layoffs as Disney is still working to fully staff the parks and resorts.
Disney Vacation Club May Be Fully Stocked as Wallets Tighten
If you think about it, the real purpose of Disney buying resale contracts back is probably to resell them again but at full price. There may be more going on than that but as someone who keeps up with what Disney shares, that’s what I’m deducing to. So if Disney Vacation Club direct sales are also being affected by the current financial situation, it would make sense for buybacks to come to a halt. With interest rates up across the board and the financial changes of the last few years, many are seeing the effects in their wallets. Perhaps that’s having an impact on Disney timeshare sales. If so, Disney wouldn’t need to continually refill their stock like before. Maybe playing it safe is a better plan in uncertain financial markets.
We Don’t Know When Disney Will Buy Back Resale DVC Contracts Again
We won’t get any notice about Disney starting to buy back resale contracts again. This could be something that just starts up at full speed again out of nowhere after months of no activity. We don’t have a timeline and Disney Vacation Club doesn’t provide any insight on this kind of thing for sellers or buyers. DVC doesn’t have a resale department at all so all of these transactions are handled outside of the company. Disney can provide some of the information you need to move forward but recommends a licensed real estate broker for your resale needs.
What’s Next for Disney Parks and DVC?
Coming out of the pandemic, then going through a travel boom leaves Disney in an interesting place. Sales on room stays have started to return after years of the highest overall vacation prices we’ve seen at Disney. Discounts are a sure sign travel has at least returned to a more normal rhythm. Company leadership has acknowledged things were overpriced and out-priced some who would have been consumers. With a new theme park being built just down the highway at Universal Studios Orlando, competition is heating up.
If Disney is ready to rise to the challenges they are being presented with, we might be in for a real treat. To put their best yellow show forward, Walt Disney World specifically, where many DVC properties are located, needs to invest in maintenance in the parks, return all pre-pandemic offerings and add additional things for guests to look forward to. Many of the resorts were just refurbished or are currently being refurbished. Let’s hope the best is yet to come. Is it a good time to buy resale DVC? Yes. Read our article for all of the reasons why.
DVC Resale Experts is here to help
DVC Resale Experts is a licensed real estate broker with a team that specializes in resale DVC. Whether you’re adding on points, buying or selling Disney Vacation Club, the Experts can help you find the right price to place a bid with or list your contract for. Our independent, licensed real estate agents are former Disney Vacation Club Guides. They have decades of pixie dusted experience selling DVC and take pride in providing excellent service to their clients. The Experts have seen it all and are happy to answer your questions throughout the process.
DVC resale prices can pleasantly surprise potential members. See our resale DVC listings for a look at real time availability and pricing. If you don’t see the contract you’re wishing for, join the DVC Resale Experts Buyer Wish List to be contacted when one magically appears on the market. Ready to sell DVC? Get in touch for a complimentary valuation of your specific contract today.
