DVC

With the new 2020 pricing charts out, here's a look at how each resort's annual dues increased. Was Disney able to stay within their 4-6% increase average? Did some resorts beat the average? We'll also take a look at any purchase price increases.

Highest Annual Dues Increases

First up are the annual dues. Here are the 5 resorts with the highest annual dues increases:

1. Disney's Vero Beach Resort

Disney's Vero Beach Resort comes in at #1 overall with the highest amount raised with $0.65 per point. 2020 dues for Vero Beach are now at $10.13 up from $9.48 in 2019. This is a 6.86% increase. It is interesting that the highest increase comes to a resort that's not on Disney theme park property. This illustrates why looking at annual dues in important before, during and after making your Disney Vacation Club purchase. In fact, over the life of your contract, you end up spending more money on dues than the in the initial purchase price.

2. Disney's Old Key West Resort

Sliding into the second spot is Disney's Old Key West Resort with a $0.61 hike in annual dues per point from a year ago. In 2019, dues were $7.23 and they sit at $7.84 in 2020; a whopping 8.44% increase. Old Key West has the highest percentage increase this year out of all the resorts. This is interesting since Old Key West is the original DVC resort and is on the lower end of purchase price per point.

3. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

The bronze place is occupied by Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. Owners here were handed an additional $0.54 per point for their annual dues. This brings the total due to $9.10 per point up from $8.56 last year; a 6.31% change. It's again worth pointing out that two of the top three raises are on properties not at a Disney theme park.

4. Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina, Hawai'i

Heading way out west for number 4, Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Ko Olina, Hawai'i is the first resort on our list to stay in the “average range” of annual dues increases although just barely with a 5.98% increase. This brings dues from $7.86 in 2019 to $8.33 in 2020, a $0.47 difference.

5. Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Disney Vacation Club is asking owners at Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge to pay 6.28% more (again above the stated average of 4-6%) on annual dues this year. Last year dues per point were $7.32 and in 2020 they are $7.78.

Lowest Annual Dues Increases

0. Disney's Riviera Resort

Disney's Riviera Resort had no increase in dues from 2019 to 2020. They remain at $8.31. However, I've placed them at #0 since they only opened up on December 16th, 2019 and it would be pretty unexpected to have an increase after less than a month of operation.

1. Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

The resort with the lowest overall (actual, see above) increase in dues is Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge with a meager $0.02 raise. The dues went from $7.43 in 2019 to $7.45 in 2020. This is well below the stated average annual increases of 4-6%.

2. Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

The next somewhat unexpectedly small annual DVC dues increase is at the Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. You might expect the more premium resorts to also have higher dues amounts, but that's not always the case. (I'll dig into this more in a future post ;) ). This year dues at the Poly only went up $0.03 (0.44%) from $6.76 to $6.79.

3. Disney's Beach Club Villas

While the first two (or three) resorts had almost imperceptible increases in dues, the Beach Club villas is the first to have a more meaningful increase at $0.12 per point. This takes their dues from under seven dollars, $6.94, in 2019 to $7.06 in 2020. Still, it's one of the smallest increases this year.

4. Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian

Another Magic Kingdom area and Monorail resort makes the list of lowest dues increases. The Grand has only increased $0.17 in dues from a year ago. 2020 annual dues will cost $6.56 per point which is up from $6.39 in 2019. This is extra good news for us since it's our home resort.

5. Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort

Rounding out the top five lowest annual dues increases in 2020 and completing the trifecta of Magic Kingdom and Monorail resorts on the list is Bay Lake Tower. With an increase of $0.18, or 2.81%, the resort that's closest to the Magic Kingdom cost $6.40 in 2019 and will now run $6.58 per point in 2020.

Well, there are the ten resorts with the highest and lowest amounts of Disney Vacation Club annual dues. If you'd like to see how all of the resorts stacked up, along with purchase price increases, check out the full list here.

What do you think about these increases? Let me know in the comments!

Title image of Disney's Vero Beach Resort courtesy of Huffington Post

- Chris Marshall