The point of a timeshare is commonly to purchase many vacations at once, and pay a better rate than you would, if you purchased them individually. So how long do timeshares last? The Disney timeshare, Disney Vacation Club (DVC), is quite popular with many different resorts to choose from. Is Disney Vacation Club for life? Disney Vacation Club is not a for life program. However, it can be willed to someone if there is time left on it. Memberships expire at different times, depending on when and where you purchase. Let’s go over some different buying strategies, how to purchase the longest lasting Disney Vacation Club Membership, and some things to consider to help you find the right contract for you.

Does Disney Vacation Club last your whole life?

Whether or not Disney Vacation Club lasts for life is kind of up to you. Your buying strategy will actually determine how long you are a Member. The length of a DVC contract varies based on which resort you choose as your home resort. When you buy a contract, the date of the DVC expiration is already set. You cannot change it.

Disney Vacation Club typically lasts about 50 years from the time a resort is built. If you want a contract for the longest time possible, you’ll need to purchase it shortly after it debuts. The catch is, you’ll need to purchase directly from Disney in order to have a contract for the full length of time it exists. That has its perks, literally, but it also has the highest cost. When you’re considering the different ways to purchase Disney Vacation Club, resale contracts offer very enticing price opportunities.

An example of this is one of the most economic options right now for DVC which is Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. This home resort launched in 2017. The contracts at Copper Creek all expire in 2068. This is one of the longest contracts available at this time. For those interested in owning Disney Vacation Club as long as possible, or as close to life as it gets, this is a great option.

Many people know that it’s possible to leave Disney Vacation Club to someone in your will. They don’t have to keep it. It’s possible to sell Disney Vacation Club and there are many people interested in buying resale DVC. While DVC is not an investment, it can be sold.

Can you own Disney Vacation Club for life?

Owning Disney Vacation Club for life is possible. It may require you to purchase multiple contracts with different end dates. While, we can’t predict many things, we can do our best with the information and opportunities we have.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American lifespan is around 77 years of age. That certainly plays into if DVC is for life or not. Disney Vacation Club is a deeded real estate interest. This means that even though it’s a timeshare, you are technically an owner for the duration of your Membership.

It’s possible to have more than one Disney Vacation Club Membership. That means you could have contracts of different lengths. Maybe you see yourself slowing down in the future or wanting to vacation other places. You might be in a big runDisney season, wanting to stay multiple weekends throughout the year. Perhaps in the future you see yourself having just one Disney vacation a year once you reach a certain milestone, like retirement, kids graduating, or something else. All things to consider in your buying strategy.

How to Have Disney Vacation Club for Life

We've established that Disney Vacation Club contracts have a predetermined length. So how can you have Disney Vacation Club for life? There are a lot of variables in that mix. The best strategy for buying DVC, if you want to have it always available to you, is to purchase multiple contracts. Either this, or to plan to purchase another contract if yours should expire.

It’s possible to own multiple DVC contracts and this comes with some benefits. While the different home resorts have different DVC contract lengths, they also vary in restrictions when it comes to resale.

If someone wants to own DVC for life, one strategy is to purchase a contract when a DVC resort is brand new. Then it has the most time available to use that it will. However, when you want to get the best rate on DVC, resale is nearly always the way to go. We don’t see too many brand new DVC resorts available for resale though. However, if you wait just a few years, you’ll start to see contracts from the newest resorts trickle onto the market as owners change their mind and sell for various reasons.

Let’s play with some scenarios and say your favorite resort is Disney Beach Club Villas. This is one of the most popular Disney Vacation Club home resorts. It’s also set to expire in 2042. This is the earliest of DVC resort deed expirations. Many resorts expire in 2042. This might be a great starting point for you but if you want to have your DVC ownership stretch beyond that expiration year, looking at a newer property like Disney's Riviera Resort would give you quite a few extra years. Disney’s Riviera resort expires in 2070.

There are some other differences between these two resorts that we should talk about. Disney's Beach Club Villas is one of the original 14 DVC resorts. This puts it into another category, allowing resale members to use their points at other resorts in the same standing. Disney’s Riviera Resort is the fifteenth DVC resort. It has a new set of rules. You need to own there in order to use resale points there.

If you want to have a Disney Vacation Club contract for the full length available, you may want to consider purchasing through Disney Vacation Club directly. At least for one of your contracts, especially if you want perks like access to DVC Member lounges.

DVC Resale Experts Can 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 delight in providing excellent service to their clients. The Experts have seen it all and are happy to answer your questions throughout the process.

See our resale DVC listings for a look at real time availability and pricing.

Get in touch for a complimentary valuation of your specific contract to sell DVC.