Best Deal on current incentives

[SugarSweetLee]

The choice here--for the poster--was between RIV and Poly. My comment wasn't about how lovely RIV is. (There are many plusses--best cafe, best quick service, one of the three best signature restaurants on property, skyliner, etc.). It was only about the drop in resale value. Compared to Poly, if you had to--or wanted to flip this--it's a pretty steep loss. There have been a couple non-stripped RIV contracts in recent months with asking prices under $100, where as Poly tends to hold value a lot better. It's all due to restrictions, IMO, not desirability of the resort.

Reminding your original quote that I was responding to, "The thing with RIV is that, since the restrictions, you need to know that you're going to love it for life."

No one is arguing that, currently, there is a big difference in resale pricing between the two properties.

My point was you can still make a choice that isn't driven by what will get you the most $ *IF* you have to sell someday, and that you will get value out of the product if you use it, and that you don't have to love it forever to do so.

OP has already said his family is leaning toward Poly, so the debate is somewhat moo. (#Joey #it'slikeacow'sopinion)

 

[atthebeachclub]

Are they really? Poly seems so spread out with multiple buildings with lots of trees and tropicals everywhere, and RIV with what I thought was a smaller footprint and relatively little landscaping. But maybe it's down to the cash side differentiating.

I’m with you on this; Poly’s spread out nature and old buildings probably mean dues will be higher long term. But cash side probably does bolster the dues a bit and splits the cost.

 

[airjay75]

Poly’s average annual dues increase prior to the addition of the island tower was 3.57% per year. The addition of the island tower brought that average down to 2.85% per year. RIV’s average annual dues increase has been 1.46% per year. That’s a quick calculation - if you want to get fancy, you can go have some fun in excel calculating compounded annual growth rates over time.

Over the short-term, are Poly dues likely to stay lower than RIV dues? Yes, almost certainly. Over the long-term? Well, I hope you have a good crystal ball.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Poly’s average annual dues increase prior to the addition of the island tower was 3.57% per year. The addition of the island tower brought that average down to 2.85% per year. RIV’s average annual dues increase has been 1.46% per year. That’s a quick calculation - if you want to get fancy, you can go have some fun in excel calculating compounded annual growth rates over time.

Over the short-term, are Poly dues likely to stay lower than RIV dues? Yes, almost certainly. Over the long-term? Well, I hope you have a good crystal ball.

I think Riv’s dues will be lower long term. There is less to the grounds. And the compact building is probably easier for housekeeping (a big cost driver). And the building is WAY newer than Poly, which was already very old when it first became DVC, so probably less efficient and less resistant to wind, etc. Also people seem to anecdotally say that Riviera was built better than the new Poly tower.

All this said, Riviera isn’t where I personally really want to stay, but these are all positives for it.

 

[Brian Noble]

The RIV haters will never be convinced it's not an inferior product, and that's fine.

I'm weird this way, but this is one of the reasons I really like owning at RIV. It's the red-headed stepchild of DVC, and that's awesome in my book.

 

[Mouseforward]

If anyone’s tracking, magical beginnings, Check arrived postmark nine days after notary. Of course it took 11 days to get here in the mail, but that’s not Disney’s fault.

 

[Mouseforward]

To be honest, you don't, really.

The RIV haters will never be convinced it's not an inferior product, and that's fine.

A lot of people look at DVC as something where they want to maximize resale value if they ever get in a bind or get tired of it (or as an "investment" with appreciating returns, eek).

But, that's just one way to look at it. IMO you don't need to hold a contract anywhere near to end of life to get the value you paid out of it, if you would have spent the cash on similar vacations anyway.

I’m not gonna buy an ugly sweater because it’s 50% off, I’m not gonna drive a Toyota Corolla cause it has the best resale value.

I just dumped a poly resale contract to buy more RIV after owning RIV for four years. I used to be a hater, and I still hate restrictions, but you have to buy what you want. Riviera may not be the best in any one category, but it’s at least excellent in all categories.

 

[disneylandtour]

I’m with you on this; Poly’s spread out nature and old buildings probably mean dues will be higher long term. But cash side probably does bolster the dues a bit and splits the cost.

I believe that, in terms of MF exposure, the DVC breakdown there is something like 50% tower and 50% longhouses once everything is declared. There are more longhouse studios, but the tower has higher point rooms which would mostly balance it out. This bodes well for MFs.

 

[Mouseforward]

I believe that, in terms of MF exposure, the DVC breakdown there is something like 50% tower and 50% longhouses once everything is declared. There are more longhouse studios, but the tower has higher point rooms which would mostly balance it out. This bodes well for MFs.

The bungalows tie up a lot of points and they’re very high maintenance. But you’ll do fine while in active sales. It magically happens that way.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I'm weird this way, but this is one of the reasons I really like owning at RIV. It's the red-headed stepchild of DVC, and that's awesome in my book.

Same…please everyone keep hating on RIV!

 

[pzw90]

I'm weird this way, but this is one of the reasons I really like owning at RIV. It's the red-headed stepchild of DVC, and that's awesome in my book.

So when are you buying CFW? Also, what’s below red-headed stepchild?

 

[Brian Noble]

Well played!

CFW doesn't seem to get the vitriol that RIV does, though. It's more a "poor niche little CFW" vibe. RIV, in contrast is: "You are wrong to like it, and I will explain why."

 

[intamin]

I would choose the Poly for a few reasons:

1) Cheaper annual dues, and likely to stay that way.
2) Better resale value if you ever need to sell
3)Overall vibe and location cannot be matched.

1 and 2 are true, like was said before though 3 is debatable. I love the location and vibes but the crowds at Poly do somewhat detract from that. It feels like everything at Poly has a huge line like Captain Cook's, Trader Sam's, Pineapple Lanai just to name a few. I still love Poly and still want to own there (which btw I recommend to OP if that's a possibility since both RIV and Poly are great resorts) but again the crowds have given me pause about owning there.

Also I whole heartily disagree about the grounds being larger at RIV. At the very least it doesn't feel like that. I don't mind walking around Poly because of the vibes and when the tiki torches are lit up at night, even if I'm just grabbing dinner there it makes me feel like I'm on vacation, but there's a convenience about RIV that comes with having everything in one building. Poly on the other hand feels like a maze and it's not easy to figure out which building you're staying at without the use of a map just because of how many longhouses there are.