Disney Polynesian Resort & RCI

aliehssunday · Jul 29, 2015

I know that Disney Polynesian Resort is new, but have people seen RCI trades with this resort? Thank you!
:stitch:

freediverdude · Jul 29, 2015

Some of the more experienced DVC members over on the DVC boards might be able to answer better, but from what I've heard, good luck finding that, lol. What I hear is that typically if you can find an RCI trade into DVC, it is a SSR 1 bedroom, and most other DVC resorts would be like winning the lottery. Over on the Timeshare Users Group boards they watch these trades very closely, you might check over there too to see what they think.

Cee · Jul 29, 2015

Right now, there is only availability at SSR and occasionally OKW.

AWalks · Jul 29, 2015

Neither the Poly villas nor VGF are even listed yet in the RCI resort code directory, so I'm pretty sure you can't trade in yet. I believe I read on TUG a while back that it takes a certain number of years after being open for a DVC resort to even be listed in RCI (maybe 2 years?), and then there is probably still some lag time after that...I think it's only been in the last couple of years that members on TUG have reported being able to trade into BLT, so VGF and Poly trades are probably going to be very long waits...

FWIW, yes SSR and OKW are the easiest to get on RCI, but it IS possible to trade into one of the other DVC resorts, it's just that those other resorts are almost always snapped up by ongoing searches before they even hit the open inventory. If you just log in to RCI and look to see what is available for exchange, what you see is essentially leftovers that didn't match an existing ongoing search. I haven't been following the DVC availability on RCI as closely this year as I did the previous few, but I have seen VWL pop up a couple of times and AKL several times as well. But for BLT, BCV or BWV you really need to have an ongoing search set up and be flexible with your dates.

We traded into BWV for a January 2014 trip, and while the DVC inventory in RCI does seem to be lower since we got our exchange, I have still seen plenty of TUG users mentioning trades into DVC since then. The DVC deposits into RCI are almost always 1 bedroom villas, the TPUs required for a week at DVC are usually around 40-45, and you definitely need to get an ongoing search set up well in advance of your dates if you want anything other than SSR or OKW, but it is possible - just not for the Poly yet.

aliehssunday · Jul 29, 2015

How frequent are 2br DVC accommodations available through RCI? What are the points required?

AWalks · Jul 30, 2015

aliehssunday said:
How frequent are 2br DVC accommodations available through RCI? What are the points required?

I don't have any hard data on what gets deposited with RCI, but just based on my own observations and reading in the last few years, I'm going to say that 2 bed DVC through RCI is pretty rare. I think I have seen a couple of people on TUG mention getting anything other than a 1 bed, and when I've read threads on there with someone wanting to know their chances of getting a studio or 2 bed through RCI, the veteran RCI-to-DVC traders have all pretty much said there is very little chance of getting anything other than 1 bed because that seems to be the vast majority of what DVC deposits in RCI It's tough to know for sure what exactly gets deposited from DVC to RCI because RCI doesn't make that info public, and most of DVC deposits never make it to open inventory anyway. I have never personally seen a 2 bed pop up in the exchange inventory, but I suppose it is not completely impossible, you would just have to be very flexible with your dates and resorts. Something other than a 1 bed may come through when a DVC member decides to trade into RCI for a non-Disney vacation, in which case I think you could get whatever they deposited? I don't know exactly how the trading aspect works on the DVC side of things, so if a DVC member who has traded out of DVC through RCI has experience with how that works, feel free to correct me on that!

As for points, I'm going to take a wild guess and say maybe in the 60-70 TPU range? If you are a DVC owner making a DVC reservation, it takes roughly 50% more points for a 2 bed than a 1 bed. So assuming that same pricing structure applies to RCI, if a 1 bed in RCI is, say, 44 TPU, an additional 50% would bring it up to 66 TPU. Again, totally a wild guess. I think there was a semi-recent question about this on the Exchanging board on TUG, so you might search over there and see if a 2 bed TPU range was mentioned.

If you really need a 2 bed at a DVC resort, and can't be really flexible in your dates and/or you don't think you'll have enough TPU, the next cheapest/easiest way to get a 2 bed villa or a Poly villa is going to be by renting points from a DVC owner, either directly or through a rental site. Actually, I have seen a couple of different Poly studios pop up in the discounted existing reservations on one of the rental sites in the last few months, and I think even a Poly bungalow once if I remember correctly.

Good luck - I know dealing with RCI can be frustrating!

Lynne M · Jul 30, 2015

Moving to the DVC Member Services board.

JimMIA · Jul 30, 2015

Cee said:
Right now, there is only availability at SSR and occasionally OKW.

I think that is due to a recent change by DVC, and also to some lack of experience, knowledge, and/or patience by some seeking DVC.

In the last year (probably not even that long, someone like Brian or Michael Coley could tell us better), DVC seems to have been depositing almost exclusively 1 BRs. Prior to that, it was possible to get 2 BRs, and even an occasional GV. We got an OKW 2 BR easily in DECEMBER 2013, even turning down one for another with better dates.

The other problem is that a lot of folks don't know one DVC resort from another. All they know is it's DVC, and they're going to be onsite somewhere. So they're not selective. They may really want a 2 BR, but they'll take a 1 BR. They don't know the resorts, so they put "any DVC" on their search. They also don't know enough to follow TUG's "Sightings" board, so they have no idea when DVC releases inventory. 8-10 months out, they get panicked and settle for something offsite, unaware that DVC doesn't release until about 5-7 months.

To answer the Poly RCI question, it's too early yet. There have to be established owners exchanging OUT of DVC for there to be inventory available coming IN. New Poly owners (and VGF) are going to use their points for the first couple of years, so it will be some time before either start showing up in RCI.

And with those two resorts, there will be two other limiting factors -- they're both small, with not much inventory to start with, and for an exchange vehicle, Poly or VGF points purchased direct would be one heck of an expensive exchange.

JimMIA · Jul 30, 2015

Just checked TUG Sightings and someone just matched yesterday for TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS in late Jan 2016 for a 1 BR at BCV.

Also, an AKV 1 BR, and several SSR 1 BRs for January.

38 TPU each.

Dean · Jul 30, 2015

aliehssunday said:
I know that Disney Polynesian Resort is new, but have people seen RCI trades with this resort? Thank you!

As noted, neither VGF or the Poly are actually listed as a member resort for RCI and will not be exchanged though they may be rented through RCI if DVD chooses. It usually takes 2-3 yrs for a new resort to be listed. After that DVC must give the home resort for anything they give before the 7 month window though they can wait and deposit later.

aliehssunday said:
How frequent are 2br DVC accommodations available through RCI? What are the points required?

Not very often recently though it's really hard to say since most are taken with ongoing searches for both non SSR/OKW and for larger units. I've seen less 2 BR the last year or so but I have personally had 2 BR villas within the last year (Aug 2014), two of them concurrently.

JimMIA · Jul 30, 2015

Also, whenever we base anything on what we see posted online, we have to remember that we're seeing only a tiny percentage of the actual.

So we will see people say no 2 BRs, but Dean got TWO. And you'll also see Michael Coley getting repeated exchanges all over the place. That's just evidence that knowing what you are doing really does make a difference.

JimMIA · Jul 31, 2015

JimMIA said:
Just checked TUG Sightings and someone just matched yesterday for TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS in late Jan 2016 for a 1 BR at BCV.

This one just popped up on eBay for a $1,795 rental.

Apparently RCI and DVC don't care as long as they get their exchange fees.

freediverdude · Jul 31, 2015

Really? Somebody got lucky and got BCV through RCI, and they're going to sit there and rent it off eBay?? Sigh. I guess someone is seeing dollar signs.

wanderlust7 · Jul 31, 2015

AWalks said:
Neither the Poly villas nor VGF are even listed yet in the RCI resort code directory, so I'm pretty sure you can't trade in yet.

VGF is in the RCI directory, but no picture and no reports of matches yet.

JimMIA · Jul 31, 2015

I was just checking availability for someone on TUG and found the following available in RCI, if anyone's interested:

SSR 1 BRs - Sept 12, 20, 25, and 27, 2015.
Other SSR 1 BRs available in November, December, January, February amd early March.

A total of 14 check-in dates available, and I think a couple just popped up between my original post and my edit!

AWalks · Jul 31, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
VGF is in the RCI directory, but no picture and no reports of matches yet.

Weird, I looked online earlier this week and don't remember seeing it. That's a good sign if it's actually in the directory now. That would be a pretty awesome trade if you could get it.

Dean · Jul 31, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
VGF is in the RCI directory, but no picture and no reports of matches yet.

Thanks, It's not been listed online but they've had a RCI ID since inception. It looks like they recently added it online but to Orlando, not WDW.

JimMIA said:
I was just checking availability for someone on TUG and found the following available in RCI, if anyone's interested:

SSR 1 BRs - Sept 12, 20, 25, and 27, 2015.

Other SSR 1 BRs available in November, December, January, February amd early March.

A total of 14 check-in dates available, and I think a couple just popped up between my original post and my edit!

I've seen as many as 22 SSR weeks, all 1 BR in the last few days anywhere from 9 August to the first week of April. It looks like they're adding a few at a time, something they did with II as well.

AWalks said:
Weird, I looked online earlier this week and don't remember seeing it. That's a good sign if it's actually in the directory now. That would be a pretty awesome trade if you could get it.

I wonder how they'll handle trades when a VGF owner trades out. If the points are further than 7 month out, they're required to deposit VGF as I understand it because they'd have to deposit home resort. Historically if they couldn't, they didn't allow the trade. With the current points system things have gotten a little fuzzy and it would depend on the actual contract with RCI.

famy27 · Aug 2, 2015

In the past, it was very possible to get a trade into a two-bedroom, depending on which resort and your travel dates. We traded into a two-bedroom at OKW in March 2012 (during spring break) and at AKV in June 2014.

But, as mentioned above, in November 2014, the deposit pattern changed dramatically. Since then, there have been NO confirmed two-bedroom sightings. Most of the one-bedrooms have been at SSR, but there have been some OKW and very few AKV, BCV, and VLW. I haven't seen BLT or BWV in a long time. Sightings for anything at all in October have been minimal, but pretty much every single summer week was available at SSR.

The weeks that you see in RCI are the ones that make it past ongoing searches (OGS). Long-standing (over a year old) OGS will get first dibs on what is deposited into RCI. Recognizing that what is reported is only a fraction of what is actually exchanges, there have been no eBay listings of two-bedroom RCI exchanges since the deposit pattern changed. As JimMIA noted about the BCV week, good weeks deposited in RCI have a pesky habit of being rented out on eBay (even though it is against RCI's rules). The fact that no two-bedrooms have been seen in RCI inventory, reported as matched through the OGS, or spotted on eBay indicates to me that it would be extremely unlikely to see any two-bedroom unless Disney changes the deposit pattern again. I think it would be much easier to get two one-bedroom SSRs for the same week than to get a two-bedroom.

JimMIA · Aug 2, 2015

famy27 said:
But, as mentioned above, in November 2014, the deposit pattern changed dramatically. Since then, there have been NO confirmed two-bedroom sightings.

Someone over on TUG was speculating that the change coincided with the renewal of the DVC's contract with RCI, and that the terms of the contract might be the reason. There was also a dramatic increase (about 600 to almost 3,000) in the number of RCI resorts bookable via DVC/RCI.

I don't know if the estimate of that timing really corresponds or not, but it's one possible explanation.

JimMIA · Aug 5, 2015

Interesting info on the TUG sightings board recently: DVC has made some March and April 2016 SSR deposits into RCI -- that's before the seven-month window opens for non-home bookings. The early April deposits are 8 months out and the March deposits are 7+ months out.

Disney Polynesian Resort & RCI

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