People looking to join the Disney Vacation Club via the resale market will face new restrictions at resorts beginning later this month.
Beginning January 19, anybody who buys a Disney Vacation Club resale contract for one of the 14 original DVC resorts will be limited to staying at those resorts, even as new Disney Vacation Club hotels are built.
That means that anybody who buys a contract on the resale market after January 19 would not be able to utilize their points to stay at Disney’s new Riviera Resort or the new Reflections- A Lakeside Lodge at Walt Disney World.
Once Disney Vacation Club sales begin at the Riviera Resort, anybody who purchases a resale contract with that hotel as their home resort will be limited to staying there.
That means members who purchase resale points for the Riviera Resort will not be able to stay at any of the 14 original resorts in the Disney Vacation Club network or, presumably, at any future hotels..
All resale contracts submitted to Disney for the right of first refusal before January 19 will be grandfathered into the change, and therefore able to use use points at the Riviera and Reflections, as well as future resorts.
It appears that the limitations on where members can stay will apply only to those who purchase their contract through the resale market. Current Disney Vacation Club members, and those who join but purchase directly from Disney, will be able to use points to stay at the new resorts.
It is not clear when contracts for the Rivera Resort will go on sale through Disney Vacation Club, but the resort is expected to open this fall.
Reflections, a nature-inspired resort that will feature more than 900 rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas, was announced in November. No opening date has been announced.
The new limits on the Disney Vacation Club resale market are the second big change to come to the program for 2019.
Last month, we reported that some members saw a dues increase of as much as 11 percent for 2019.