A handful of Disney Vacation Club resorts have contracts that expire in 2042, and that date comes up a lot in resale conversations. Some buyers treat it like a dealbreaker. Others barely think about it. The truth sits somewhere in the middle, and understanding the details will help you spend your money a lot more wisely.
Which Resorts Expire in 2042?
Eight DVC resorts share the 2042 expiration year. They are:
- Disney's Beach Club Villas
- Disney's BoardWalk Villas
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
- Disney's Old Key West Resort (original contracts)
- Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
- Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
- Disney's Vero Beach Resort
A quick note on Old Key West: Disney offered an extension to 2057 back around 2019, and some owners took it. So you'll see Old Key West contracts listed with two different end dates. Always confirm which expiration applies to the specific contract you're looking at.
How Many Years Are Actually Left?
As of 2025, a 2042 contract has about 17 years remaining. That's not forever, but it's also not nothing. Seventeen years of Disney vacations is a serious amount of use, especially if you're buying a contract with 150 or 200 points per year. Run the math on what you'd spend booking comparable rooms at rack rates over that period and the value case often holds up fine.
The expiration date does matter most to buyers who are thinking long term, say someone in their 30s who wants to use DVC into retirement. For them, a 2042 contract probably isn't the right fit. A resort like Riviera, which expires in 2070, or Copper Creek Villas at Wilderness Lodge, which runs to 2068, gives a lot more runway. But for someone in their 50s who wants a decade and a half of solid Disney trips, 2042 is genuinely workable.
How Expiration Affects Resale Pricing
This is where it gets interesting. The 2042 resorts trade at noticeably lower per-point prices on the resale market than their longer-lived counterparts. That discount exists for a reason, obviously, but it also creates real opportunity for buyers who are honest with themselves about their timeline.
Beach Club Villas and BoardWalk Villas are good examples. Both sit in premium locations with some of the best walking access to EPCOT you can get. BoardWalk in particular has a loyal following, and Beach Club is steps from the International Gateway. Despite that location premium, resale prices at both resorts are softer than you might expect, largely because of 2042. Buyers who value location over longevity can pick up genuinely desirable points at a lower cost per point than they'd pay at a newer resort.
Animal Kingdom Villas is another one worth mentioning. The Savanna views there are unlike anything else in the DVC system, and the resort consistently draws strong demand for its unique rooms. Yet resale prices reflect the expiration. If you've always wanted a Savanna view studio and you're realistic about your usage window, this could be a smart buy.
The Annual Dues Picture
Expiration isn't the only number to watch. Annual dues vary by resort, and they factor heavily into the true cost of ownership. Some of the 2042 resorts have relatively modest dues. Others, like Vero Beach, carry higher dues that reflect the costs of a standalone resort outside the Walt Disney World bubble.
Vero Beach deserves a specific callout. It's a beautiful property, but it's not in Orlando, which limits its flexibility for most DVC owners. The dues are on the higher end, and with 2042 approaching, the value math gets tighter faster than at the Walt Disney World resorts. It's not a bad contract for someone who genuinely loves Vero Beach and visits regularly, but it requires a clear-eyed look before you commit.
Saratoga Springs is on the other end of that spectrum. It has some of the lowest dues in the entire DVC system, a huge footprint with lots of availability, and a Disney Springs location that appeals to a certain type of vacationer. The per-point resale prices have historically been among the lowest in the system too, which makes it one of the more accessible entry points into DVC ownership overall.
What Happens When a Contract Expires?
The contract simply ends. You don't own anything after the expiration date. There's no renewal option, no buyout, no residual value. Your points for the final use year need to be used before the expiration, and then the membership is done. Disney takes the property back and can do whatever it wants with it, including restarting a new DVC resort at the same location with new deed terms.
That last part is actually what happened with Polynesian Villas and Bungalows. Disney restructured the property into a new DVC product. Whether something similar happens at any of the 2042 resorts is pure speculation, but it's worth knowing that precedent exists. Owners of expiring contracts would not automatically receive any interest in a new resort built on the same land.
Resale Restrictions and the 2042 Resorts
All of the 2042 resorts predate Disney's resale restrictions, which kicked in for new resorts starting with Riviera in 2019. That means points from Beach Club, BoardWalk, Animal Kingdom, Bay Lake Tower, and the rest of this group can still be used at any DVC resort, including the newer ones like Riviera and the Disneyland Hotel. You don't lose any booking flexibility by buying a 2042 resale contract.
This is actually a meaningful advantage over buying resale points from Riviera or the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Those newer resale contracts carry restrictions that limit where you can book. The 2042 resorts carry no such restriction, which makes them more flexible despite the shorter timeline.
A Simple Way to Think About the Value
One rough framework some buyers use is to calculate the total cost of ownership per point over the life of the contract. Take the purchase price per point, add estimated total dues over the remaining years, and divide by the number of years left. That gives you an annualized cost per point, which you can compare across resorts with different expirations and different price tags.
It's not a perfect formula because dues increase over time and you're not accounting for the time value of money, but it gives you a directional sense of whether a cheaper 2042 contract actually pencils out better than a pricier contract that runs to 2060 or beyond. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. The answer depends heavily on current asking prices, and those shift with the resale market.
How to Shop These Contracts
If you're seriously considering a 2042 resort, the most useful thing you can do is compare multiple listings side by side. Prices vary between brokers, point balances differ, and some sellers include banked points that add immediate value. DVC Market pulls listings from every major broker into one place at no cost to buyers, so you can see the full picture without calling around or signing up for anything.
Pay close attention to the current year's point balance when you're reviewing contracts. A 2042 contract with a full year of points available is meaningfully different from one that's been stripped or borrowed against. Loaded contracts cost more but can be worth it depending on your plans.
Once you find something you like and make an offer, most contracts close in about 35 days from acceptance. Disney's Right of First Refusal is part of that process, though Disney waives it on the vast majority of contracts these days. Closing costs typically run somewhere between $500 and $1,000, plus Disney's $500 administration fee. The seller covers the broker commission.
The 2042 resorts aren't for everyone, but dismissing them entirely means overlooking some genuinely desirable properties at prices that can make a lot of sense. Beach Club steps from EPCOT, Savanna views at Animal Kingdom, the BoardWalk atmosphere right on the water. These are real things, and they're available at a discount. Whether that discount is worth the shorter runway is a question only you can answer, and it starts with knowing what you're actually looking at.