Disney Vacation Club has officially announced another Member exclusive First Wave sailing, this time aboard the new Disney Believe!

The 5 night cruise departs Fort Lauderdale on January 5, 2028, and visits Castaway Cay, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, and Nassau before returning January 10.

A few notable details:

• Booking opens November 21, 2026, at 10 AM ET.
• You must be eligible for Membership Extras to book.
• At least one guest must be booked entirely using DVC Reservation Points.
• Disney is waiving the initial $95 transaction fee.
• Full payment is required when booking.
• The points chart has not yet been released.

Also worth mentioning that this is NOT a traditional DVC Member Cruise, so don't expect all the special programming and gifts typically associated with those sailings.

Full details:
https://dvcfan.com/dvc-discounts/disney-believe-first-wave-dvc-member-sailing/

I'm curious how many Members are interested in these First Wave experiences. Without knowing the points chart yet, would you consider using your points to sail on the Believe, or do you think you'd get better value renting your points and booking a regular cruise with cash?

Cash reservations are now open for Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, and we’ve broken down every room type, from the Encanto-themed Duo Studios to the Brother Bear Lake Houses on Bay Lake.

Each one includes the new concept art Disney shared, plus view types, occupancy and room details. Which one are you booking first? 👇

https://dvcfan.com/news/disneys-lakeshore-lodge-room-types-views/

DVC's fall incentive announcement included a note that Riviera is now 95% sold: 6,739,966 total points, with about 378,500 left as of October 7th, 2026.

If you set aside the roughly 2% Disney is reported to retain (about 134,800 points), that leaves around 243,700 points to sell. DVC News's monthly reports show Riviera averaging about 50,600 points per month from January through August 2026, which works out to roughly 4.8 months. That lands around late February 2027, with a realistic range of mid-February to mid-April depending on pace.

We also get into what happens to direct pricing after sellout, how resale compares (about $114 vs. $243 per point), and why the timing could line up with Lakeshore Lodge going on sale:

https://dvcfan.com/general-dvc/when-will-riviera-dvc-sell-out/

Curious whether others think the timeline is too aggressive or too conservative.

Walt Disney World Annual Pass prices increased again today, with every pass tier seeing an increase for both new purchases and renewals.

The biggest jump is the Incredi Pass at $120. For DVC Members, the Sorcerer Pass increases $40, bringing the new purchase price to $1,139 and the renewal price to $969, plus tax.

Walt Disney World Annual Pass Prices

Annual Pass	New 2026 Price	Previous Price	Price Change
Incredi Pass, New Purchase	$1,749 plus tax	$1,629 plus tax	Increase of $120
Incredi Pass, Renewal	$1,499 plus tax	$1,379 plus tax	Increase of $120
Sorcerer Pass, New Purchase*	$1,139 plus tax	$1,099 plus tax	Increase of $40
Sorcerer Pass, Renewal*	$969 plus tax	$929 plus tax	Increase of $40
Pirate Pass, New Purchase*	$909 plus tax	$869 plus tax	Increase of $40
Pirate Pass, Renewal*	$789 plus tax	$749 plus tax	Increase of $40
Pixie Dust Pass, New Purchase*	$499 plus tax	$489 plus tax	Increase of $10
Pixie Dust Pass, Renewal*	$419 plus tax	$399 plus tax	Increase of $20

Full details and additional Annual Pass information:
https://dvcfan.com/news/walt-disney-world-annual-pass-prices-increase/

Curious where everyone lands on this one. Are you still renewing at these prices?

The September 2026 average resale price report from DVC Resale Market is out, and I think we're finally seeing more of the pricing movement we've been expecting after months of unusually low inventory.

There weren't many massive individual movers this month, which is actually part of what makes the broader trend interesting. Polynesian increased from $172 to $179 per point, Disneyland Hotel climbed from $140 to $154, and Grand Floridian reached $171 per point.

One of the more interesting pieces of data this month was Fort Wilderness. We saw another resale contract close, and with so few of these contracts having sold, every transaction gives us a little more information about where this resale market could eventually settle. I still think we're going to see Fort Wilderness land in a pricing range more comparable to Riviera over time, but we're nowhere near having enough sales yet to confidently call the market.

Inventory is also starting to creep back up. As of October 5, DVC Resale Market had around 244 active listings, the highest level since May. That's an improvement from where we were earlier this year, but still well below some of the inventory levels we saw in 2024.

I've seen some speculation that the recent increase could be connected to Disney's commercial-rental policy changes. Personally, I think it's too early for that. If larger commercial owners ultimately decide to sell, many of those contracts likely still have reservations attached well into 2027, so I'd expect that impact to show up later.

For now, this looks more like normal fall seasonality before we head into the end-of-year and annual-dues period, when resale activity traditionally starts picking up again.

Full September 2026 DVC Resale Market report:

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/dvc-resale-average-sales-prices-for-september-2026/?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=dvcfan

Disney shared another Letters from Lakeshore update today with our first look at Branch & Brush, the new lounge planned for Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge.

It’ll sit just beyond the main lobby overlooking Bay Lake, with a seasonal nature theme and a chandelier designed to change colors to represent spring, summer, fall, and winter.

We also got more details on the lobby, including the massive windows, fiber-optic river running through the floor, and confirmation that the Pocahontas-inspired centerpiece originally associated with Reflections is still part of the design.

What do you all think of the lounge based on the concept art? I’m especially curious whether people like the illuminated ceiling or think it looks a little too artificial.

Full article:
https://dvcfan.com/dvc-resorts/lakeshore-lodge/first-look-at-branch-brush-at-disneys-lakeshore-lodge-revealed/

Flamingo Crossings probably isn't the first place most DVC Members think about when deciding where to go for a nice dinner, but that may be starting to change.

We were invited to check out the newly opened Flatlands Bar & Grill, and there are some interesting Disney connections behind it. Owner Nick Valenti is the former CEO of Patina Restaurant Group, and Executive Chef Dominique Filoni previously worked at Cítricos and Topolino’s Terrace.

The steaks were excellent, but some of our biggest surprises were actually the cocktails, lobster rolls, and Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower. We also compared the steak pricing with Bourbon Steak at the Dolphin, which makes for an interesting comparison if you're willing to venture just outside Disney property.

Full disclosure: Flatlands invited us and covered our dinner. We included that disclosure in the review as well.

Full review and photos:
https://dvcfan.com/general-dvc/flatlands-bar-grill-review-flamingo-crossings/

Curious if anyone else has tried Flatlands yet, or if Flamingo Crossings has made it into your Disney dining rotation?

Disney Vacation Club has now officially confirmed the three additional Moonlight Magic dates for Fall 2026 that had surfaced earlier this month:

EPCOT

• October 15, 2026

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• November 30, 2026
• December 22, 2026

Registration dates:

• Early Registration: September 24, 2026
• General Registration: October 1, 2026

Eligible Members can register for one of these additional dates even if they already attended a Moonlight Magic event earlier in 2026.

For Early Registration, qualifying Resort reservations and party-size changes had to be completed by 11:59 PM ET on September 20.

Full details here:
https://dvcfan.com/dvc-discounts/fall-2026-dvc-moonlight-magic-dates/

No 2027 Moonlight Magic dates have been announced yet.

Disney Vacation Club’s new reservation modification restrictions went live today, September 17th.

Affected reservations now show a disabled Modify button and a warning explaining that travel dates and room types cannot be changed until the reservation’s original checkout date is within 11 months.

So traditional reservation walking at the 11 month Home Resort window is essentially over.

Disney also published the updated 2026 Home Resort Rules and Regulations. I compared them against the previous 2024 version, and surprisingly, this modification restriction is basically the only substantial policy change.

The part I find more interesting after following the community discussion over the past two weeks is the impact on Members planning longer stays.

Someone planning 10, 12, or 14 nights can no longer simply book the initial portion of the trip and continue extending it as dates become available. That creates a real change in how some Members have historically used their points, particularly international Members and others who routinely take longer vacations.

At the same time, extremely limited rooms are still extremely limited. Club Level at Animal Kingdom, Value accommodations, BoardWalk Standard View, etc. are not suddenly going to become easy reservations simply because walking has been restricted.

So I think the conversation has become a little more complicated than simply “walking is gone.”

Full article and screenshots here:

https://dvcfan.com/general-dvc/dvc-reservation-modification-rules-now-in-effect/

Curious how everyone feels about the change now that we can actually see it working in the booking system.

The transformation of the former Jellyrolls space continues, and the new Hurly-Burly signage is now going up at Disney’s BoardWalk ahead of the venue’s October 1 opening.

One thing I’m glad to see is that Disney hasn’t completely abandoned the visual feel of Jellyrolls. The red awnings are still there, and the new sign uses a similar warm color profile that feels familiar without simply recreating what was there before.

I’m especially curious to see how it all looks at night. If the new signage gets a similar style of backlighting, I think it could preserve some of that classic nighttime BoardWalk atmosphere while still giving Hurly-Burly its own identity.

It’s a small update, but another sign that we’re getting very close to opening day.

Photos and more thoughts here:
https://dvcfan.com/dvc-resorts/boardwalk/hurly-burly-sign-goes-up-at-disneys-boardwalk/

Looks like we may finally have the additional Moonlight Magic dates for the remainder of 2026:

EPCOT
Thursday, October 15, 2026

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Monday, November 30, 2026

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Tuesday, December 22, 2026

This all started when I was digging around some older Moonlight Magic registration queue pages and stumbled across what appeared to be a staged Fall 2026 queue.

That queue has since been updated and is now set to begin Thursday, September 24 at 11:00 AM ET.

Disney Vacation Club has not officially confirmed these dates yet, so keep that caveat in mind, but the fact that the registration queue is actively being updated certainly makes things interesting.

We are also still waiting on the 2027 Moonlight Magic schedule, which I expect we could hear more about very soon.

Full details and the backstory here:

https://dvcfan.com/dvc-discounts/fall-2026-dvc-moonlight-magic-dates/