After three consecutive months of significantly declining numbers, direct sales of Disney Vacation Club points may be turning the corner.
During the first three months of 2020, the 11 Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World recorded 586,139 points in direct sales. Then, in mid-March, the Parks and resorts were closed due to COVID-19 and DVC sales plunged. Only 67,800 points were sold in April, May, and June.
With the reopening of the DVC resorts in June and the Parks in July, direct sales have now recorded its first increase, albeit a rather small increase. In July 2020, 13,715 points were sold, an improvement over the 9,540 points that were sold in June. Based on the dates shown on these deeds, most were sold in late June and July after guests had returned to Walt Disney World.
It will be many months before sales return to the pre-COVID levels when monthly sales below 150,000 points were considered a subpar month. But it appears that sales will continue to improve. Disney recorded 50 DVC deeds in the first two business days of August; it only recorded 98 Walt Disney World deeds in all of July.
Disney’s Riviera Resort — In July 2020, 9,255 points were sold for Disney’s Riviera Resort. It has sold 1,435,292 points, about 21.3% of the resort’s 6.7 million total points.
Before the COVID-19 shutdown, Riviera was averaging 114,399 points in monthly sales. Now, after four months of depressed sales, the resort is averaging only 89,777 points in monthly sales. That average will continue to drop in the coming months, so it is difficult to estimate when Riviera may sell out.
Disney has declared 123 of Riviera’s 341 vacation homes for the DVC inventory. The 123 vacation homes account for 2,448,318, or 36.3%, of Riviera’s total points. Disney still has about 4.3 million undeclared Riviera points at its disposal. In addition, there are about one million Riviera points that are declared for members to use but have not yet sold to the public.
The sales data includes all 11 DVC resorts at Walt Disney World, as well as Disney's Vero Beach Resort, Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, and Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas. Point sales data is not available for the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. The data is compiled from deeds filed by Disney Vacation Development and recorded with the Orange County (FL) Comptroller, the Indian River County (FL) Clerk of Court, and the Beaufort County (SC) Register of Deeds.
Wil Lovato is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2009. His DVC Home Resorts include Copper Creek Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, and Aulani. He can be found posting on many Disney discussion forums under the username of “wdrl.”
