Do you plan on buying resale or direct? Just want to make sure you are aware of member extras and the restrictions for resale buyers.
When Poly was bringing marketed we were really excited ( fond memories staying when kids were younger) until we found out studios only. Have you carefully examined the
points charts for the resorts you are thinking of? Two studios at Poly in July for five nights (not including a Friday or Saturday which is a few more points) would be 230 points for standard view. I’ve seen Poly on resale for between $136-$155, depending on contract size and how many points remain. dues are $6.79 per point. So you get 4 showers, two toilets, 2 kitchenettes and plenty of sleep surfaces. You don’t say if you have boys and girls or boys only or girls only. Sharing rooms with each other and mom and dad is okay when younger, not too much fun as everyone gets older. We did end up staying there one night and was a bit disappointed. We were far removed from the lobby, the room seemed dark, and the kitchenette, in my opinion, was probably the smallest I’ve seen (have stayed at all DVCs except OKW and VGF). We did have a lake view and a lovely view of MK fireworks. And they have gas grills there!!! Someone else already talked about the monorail, so I won’t repeat what was already said.
Animal Kingdom would be 195 points for the same time in a standard view two bedroom. I’ve seen AKV on resale for between $106-$119. Dues are $7.67 a point. So you would get a large master bedroom with an awesome bathroom with a hot tub, shower and a toilet you can close off, a nice size living room with a pull out couch and a big sleeper chair, big eating area, full kitchen, another full bath near the entry (tub/shower combo) lots of closet space, washer/dryer, plus the second bedroom with another full bath. Depending on if you choose a Lockoff...the Lockoff will actually be a studio with kitchenette, a bed and pull out couch...the dedicated will have two beds and no kitchenette, but both will have a full bathroom. I am pretty sure a Kidani is the better choice vs Jambo for the extra bathroom? Oh and the community hall at Kidani is the best. Biggest drawback is having to take the bus everywhere. It can get tedious during busy times. I ended up driving to Animal kingdom park one morning because of bus issues. It’s actually pretty easy to park at the parks except MK. I would never park there.
I know you didn’t seem interested in BLT. But just throwing this out there. It would be 240 points for the same timeframe in a 2 bedroom standard view. Resales runs between $133-$155. Dues are $6.58 pp. Room configuration is the same as animal kingdom. But the location is amazing. And rooftop viewing of fireworks. I don’t like the pool too much, but the Contemporary pool is just a short walk. Is does lack theme, but seeing the MK and monorail while waiting for the elevator or walking across the bridge to the Contemporary is enough for me. There is a great community hall too.
I didn’t mean for this to be so long. But getting back to your original question, we first bought BWV when it first opened and stayed on a cash reservation. DH went on the tour without me (didn’t know it was a DVC resort). We bought BLT without seeing the real thing. We saw the mock up rooms that had set up at SSR. And saw them building it. Absolutely no regrets, and added to that 3 times....difference being we did actually tour replicas of the rooms. We also bought Riviera before it opened, but again toured the mock up rooms. Just returned from a week there and no regrets there either.
I absolutely understand what you mean about spending$6,000 for a vacation. It does make sense to think about DVC. But....watch some more you tubes and whatnot and read some other blogs ... there are others. Take the good and bad of each, roll it around in your head for a while. I always need to put everything down on paper. It is a big investment.
Best wishes to you!
Edited to add:
@twodogs makes a lot of good points. I think I rambled more though. But we are different. It’s usually just the two of us and we NEED a one bedroom.