Blue Card decision for Poly, Copper Creek, or VDH?

[Makai]

Don’t make a decision on dues. Future dues amounts could be a complete opposite for any of the resorts. A Hero now, a Zero later on. Never know.

Don’t buy a sold out resort direct. Active sales will get you the best current pricing. (The point charts do come into play for how many points you buy. The minimum 150 might not be enough, in this current high end points chart era).

Would the CCV sale be an exception to this with such close pricing to PVB?

I anticipate that my stays in the new resorts will have to be booked as split stays with resale points until 2042, but I am hoping to add more direct around that time if they offer any special direct deals for owners at those expired resorts. I am happy to stick with just the legacy resorts until then though. Just don’t want to get stuck in 2042 with no direct points, and a Blue Card eligibility that is higher than I want to buy in at. I am new to DVC though, so not sure if I am making the right move waiting to add more direct in the future than the 150 minimum now.

 

[Chili327]

As a child it was my dream to stay in the Disneyland Hotel (my parents could not afford it), so our first trip as a family there was at Christmas in 2005. Sadly though, we did not like the interior of the VDH rooms compared to the higher quality & magical theming of the hotel rooms, and they were already looking a little beat up on my last visit.

Just to clarify...
You either stayed in 2025 VDH or you stayed in DLH in 2005, or that's what you're comparing to?

Don’t make a decision on dues. Future dues amounts could be a complete opposite for any of the resorts. A Hero now, a Zero later on. Never know.

Don’t buy a sold out resort direct. Active sales will get you the best current pricing. (The point charts do come into play for how many points you buy. The minimum 150 might not be enough, in this current high end points chart era).

Don’t think you have enough connection to VDH for that choice. (Emotional, vacation pattern, and residence location). Will have plenty of 7 month planning options there.

Definitely true that access to most PIT tower room categories will required 11 month priority ownership. (Unless only doing short stays).

Only wait for LSL if you have a better connection with Fort Wilderness for your lodging location over PVB, a majority of your vacation trips.

PVB is my overall pick for your direct purchase.

It's funny because I completely agree, but I do base my decisions starting with dues. lol
If I didn't care about dues, I'd probably buy VDH or other options.

 

[Makai]

I'm in my 50s also and Boulder Ridge is one of our favorites and where our current points are. My kids are adults but aren't big into Disney and don't travel with us, so I approach this without their input. Not that you want to totally disregard your kid's opinions, but when you pay- your opinion is what matters most.

For me, I think I will love LSL- but I don't want to own there if it's part of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Those dues are beyond high and concern me about how the dues will be for LSL. I also have zero interest in the cabins, so to me if they are combined that is a negative. Because of that, I've decided to not wait for LSL to go on sale. The common thought is there will be enough rooms that the home resort booking window won't be required.

This is my concern with waiting for LSL too. I would have considered buying at the Fort Wilderness cabins if they had fixed the main layout problem I disliked in the old ones. I adore the Fort Wilderness campground, but wish they had designed a mix of cabins with two and three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, & laundry, instead of shoving so many people into a tight bedroom. 6 people sharing a bathroom is a no for me. Those dues really scare me too if they are added in the trust. Wilderness Lodge seems a better fit for us overall in that area.

I am leaning even more into direct Poly if I leave the kids out of it , but would have to do add Boulder Ridge resale for our Christmas trips every couple years. I love both those resorts equally so it’s very tough!

 

[Makai]

Just to clarify...
You either stayed in 2025 VDH or you stayed in DLH in 2005, or that's what you're comparing to?



It's funny because I completely agree, but I do base my decisions starting with dues. lol
If I didn't care about dues, I'd probably buy VDH or other options.

Yeah that was confusing wording. We did our first family trip with our kids to the Disneyland Hotel in 2005, and stayed there many other trips, so that’s the nostalgic factor for us. We stayed at VDH on a 2024 November trip, and compared the room interior to all our past trips at DLH.

 

[AstroBlasters]

LSL will likely follow suit as far as materials used inside the rooms. Have you stayed any any newly refurbished rooms like BLT or SSR? Eventually all rooms will have the same materials and be somewhat copycats of one another. It seems AKV kept many of its previous items which will help it feel less cheap. I am totally with you on disliking Poly tower, cheap looking fake wood everywhere. Just not nice.

Poly tower 2 beds are very expensive keep that in mind.

Personally I could never pay cash to stay in CA while owning DVC that would just hurt too much. I paid $5500 to stay at VDH one month before buying DVC, I still think about how that $5500 could’ve went towards purchasing a DVC contract. Getting rooms in CA is hard at 7 months and requires just picking whatever days happen to be left so it’s very hard if you want to go for specific dates. VDH dues are more money than Poly yes but to me it’s worth it to have that guaranteed option to stay in CA.

I agree that people buying at WDW hoping to use the points consistently in CA have the potential to be very disappointed.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah that was confusing wording. We did our first family trip with our kids to the Disneyland Hotel in 2005, and stayed there many other trips, so that’s the nostalgic factor for us. We stayed at VDH on a 2024 November trip, and compared the room interior to all our past trips at DLH.

We bought into DVC for the extra space of the villas… that’s something ludicrously expensive to get on the hotel side.

 

[muppets3d]

It is extremely rare that future incentives are better than the outgoing ones. So in general, waiting to buy will only end up costing you more.

 

[Wedgeout]

To add: Get the whammy for sure on incentives when you have the direct price going up at the same time. Get what you can get while you can get it. January is the best time of year to buy direct for any UY!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-direct-price-increase-coming-february-2026.3976406/

 

[aam808]

This is our experience...
When we bought Direct, ccv & aul were the only choices. We live in Hawaii and thought "we can go to AU anytime" bc our priority was to secure wdw stays. Fast forward we end up selling 1 ccv contract to get AU. We have 5 grands (8,9,10,11,16) and stretching the points is a must to have longer or frequent stays.

We have brought the gk to VDH twice, but the Disney Bubble is not the same as WDW. We love the resort but not the addl tax & fee. We had no problem securing studios at <7mo during peak times.

Also, although we bought AU resale, our CCV 2026 cost per point is 30cent less than Aulani.

Unlike you, we prefer CCV aesthetics over BRV, the only con is it sleeps 4 in a studio. DH fave is Epcot and prefer now to stay in that area, but we still love WL.

 

[Hubalorian]

Great points! I had considered splitting into smaller contracts, but with the new $500 resale fee, wasn’t sure how much value the smaller ones will lose or be impacted by.

I don’t think we would buy at LSL because of how massive it is, along with the resale restrictions vs a legacy smaller resort, unless the price with incentives was much lower than current DVC blue card options. Seems unlikely I would need that 11 month window there. Also will the dues on it be higher than CCV in the Palmetto trust if they include the Fort Wilderness Cabins?

I have not considered a fixed week before and don’t know much about that option. How much extra cost is it? Is it worth doing that if we will not go every year to WDW as a family at Christmas time?

I personally think the smaller contracts will still hold value. Either as add ons (I don’t need 200 more points, just 50-100 more would do) or just lower cost to enter.

Favorite (Or is it fixed?) weeks is when you’re guaranteed your room for 10% more than it typically cost. However, if they reallocate points, it does not affect you. You decide to opt out of your favorite week you get ALL the points to make another booking. Let’s say the 2 bdr is 299 for the week in December, you would need to buy 329 points. However you would also be guaranteed that 2bdr at CCV.

 

[Moonspinner]

I am planning to buy 150 direct points for the Blue Card around February 8, so I can see the next round of incentives, and before that price increase (planning to use the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey VISA for rewards & 12 month 0%). Would you wait for better incentives once LakeShore Lodge is close to opening? Most of the current Blue Card perks do not benefit me, but I also don’t want to be locked out of new and future resorts as a resale owner with the direction Disney is going, and some of my favorite resorts expire in 2042.

I am having trouble deciding between Polynesian, Copper Creek, or VDH. While I love the interior theming of the Polynesian Island Tower rooms, I strongly dislike the Tower exteriors of VDH and PIT, and high rise Marriott style hotels in general. The charm, detail, and high quality that made us all fall in love with the Disney brand, seems to be getting replaced by more boring modern style buildings. However I am still leaning more toward choosing the Polynesian because of the low annual dues, & those beautiful rooms, even if we don’t end up staying there as much. Polynesian was also our first WDW trip stay, so there is an emotional connection for me at that resort, along with Moana being my favorite Disney movie. My guide mentioned that the Tower rooms may be the one needing that 11 month window more so than CCV due to lower inventory of certain room types I would need. I can also get MB with the Poly 150 incentive right now. CCV and Poly are close to the same price until I factor in the MB.

Background:
I am a new DVC owner since July, and bought 60 points resale of Hilton Head Island (a frequent getaway for us being 5 hours away), and Aulani 160 subsidized points , which are my very favorite DVC resorts. We moved from California to the Southeast a few years ago, after living there our entire life, which is why we became owners at Hilton Head Island. I had strongly considered the Disneyland Hotel, where that resort and park was our home away from home as a family for 20 years. As a child it was my dream to stay in the Disneyland Hotel (my parents could not afford it), so our first trip as a family there was at Christmas in 2005.

Sadly though after a 2024 trip to stay at VDH our first time, we did not like the interior of the VDH rooms compared to the higher quality & magical theming of the DL hotel rooms, and they were already looking a little beat up on some areas. Also the DVC tower exterior does not match at all with the other hotel towers. Dues are not so great in comparison to Poly, & after the very disappointing VGC refurb, I am concerned about owning in California. We also don’t need a kitchen on Disneyland trips since we usually do just 2 or 3 days at the parks, & prefer dining out there. Disneyland will be more of a quick trip for us on the way to Hawaii, or visiting family now. We are happy to just pay cash for the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel rooms on special offers, but it does hurt a little to pass up this DVC opportunity at one of our favorite & most nostalgic hotels with all the memories there, and DisneylandForward expansion coming.

Factors to consider:
September UY. Cons for me on the Polynesian & VDH are the higher point charts, and how my adult children reacted after our tours. They felt the PIT and VDH rooms looked cheap in quality (although I was stunned by those Poly Island Tower rooms & absolutely LOVE the theming). So we did another DVC tour at the Wilderness Lodge, comparing Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek villas. We all fell in love with the Wilderness Lodge, and it reminds us of our past stays at the Grand Californian. However we all preferred Boulder Ridge to the Copper Creek rooms, and wish CCV was more cabin cozy & charming like Boulder Ridge. The Christmas season is our favorite time to visit WDW, so resort priority at Wilderness Lodge would be great.

My kids are all college age, with most living near us right now, but some could end up out West again in the next 10 years. We plan to move wherever those future grandchildren end up, and will gift them the contracts in our family trust. Currently as a family of 7, we will be staying in 2 bedroom villas the most on reunion trips, & some Grand Villa splurges sprinkled in.

Questions:
I am leaning strongly toward going with Polynesian for the lower dues, higher resale value, 11 month window possibly being more necessary than CCV for those 2 bedrooms, & monorail location. I could then buy a smaller Boulder Ridge resale contract instead of the CCV offer, since we prefer those villas more and bank/borrow points for those Christmas trips every few years. I am hoping they will offer 2042 owners a special rate to buy back in direct there, but wouldn’t buy with that expectation either……

• Am I crazy to pass over VDH with our history there, and continued California visits even though we now go to Florida more? Is there anything I am overlooking?
• What are the future plans or predictions for Wilderness Lodge once LakeShore Lodge opens? Do they plan to open up the walking path to Fort Wilderness from Wilderness Lodge? We love Fort Wilderness Campground so this would be a huge plus.
• Will CCV become more necessary than PIT with needing that 11 month home base priority?
• Should I wait for better incentives? I could use 90 points for an upcoming February/March trip at the Poly, but could also switch resort reservations from a 2 bedroom PIT villa to Boulder Ridge 2 bedroom with the current points I have left.
• I have also considered buying 100 CCV now, and waiting until the summer to buy 100 at Poly to own at both but would lose MB and not sure what to expect the discount incentives will be on 100 points as a member add on.
• With a September UY, when would you buy direct?

Length of contract at poly is shorter. That’s why we passed on it.

 

[Mikey15]

If it sounds like you’re already “point starved” and willing to add points on in the future above and beyond the 150 direct. With that in mind I think I would consider CCV direct:

It sounds like your family prefers the WL rooms… BRV even more so but you can go for those a 7mo but have CCV if you need it.
Dues aren’t as low as Poly but $9.02 versus $8.33 isn’t particularly large a difference.
Poly bookings are more point hungry than CCV or BRV.
Poly tower and CCV both deal with the 4-person studio limitation… though I suppose PVB points give 11mo access to the 5-person longhouse studios too.

Moreover, you won’t always be able to get “sold-out” CCV for about the same price as Poly, as you can right now. That’s a “limited time offer.” The Magical Beginnings difference matters less because it sounds like you could readily make use of those first 150 points. Get ‘em banked for 2026 Sep UY if you can’t use them before Aug 31!

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I agree with @Mikey15 up above with CC. Your 150 points will stretch further than PIT. We own 100 at Poly for PIT (we don't like the OG longhouses,) and 100 is bupkiss for booking. We've borrowed the max since we bought in last year and I'm really bummed we don't have 300 there. I agree with you that BR aesthetics are better than CC, but you can always enjoy the BR amenities/lobby/fireplace during the holidays, and the whole WL complex is amazing at the holidays. CC looks good with the refurb, too.

Also, PIT 2Bs, only the lockoffs are the resort/low-point view. Once you get into dedicated 2Bs, it's preferred and theme park views only, which are very high, or the Penthouses, which are astronomical, in my opinion. You'll need at least 300 points to do a week there in a 2B, maybe 400.

 

[Makai]

We bought into DVC for the extra space of the villas… that’s something ludicrously expensive to get on the hotel side.

Yes, I wish we had bought when our kids were little and we could have been enjoying that extra space, laundry room, along with saving money on food with the kitchen. Having the extra bathroom alone would have made it worth it. At the time we didn’t even think about doing the math with our budget, but it would have been a smart investment looking back now at all the trips.

https://dvcfieldguide.com/polynesian-resort-tour
https://dvcfieldguide.com/copper-creek-resort-tour

According to DVC Field Guide, PIT has 17 dedicated 2 BRs (2 of those are Penthouse). CCV has 56 dedicated 2 BRs. Lock-offs are going to be difficult to get at the 7-month mark at either resort, and dedicated 2 BRs aren't exactly easy either, but I'd say PIT is likely to be significantly harder at the 7-month mark given how few dedicated 2 BRs they have. I do think PIT in general isn't going to be as difficult to get into at the 7-month mark once it is fully declared, but with so few 2 dedicated 2 BRs, those may well remain difficult if you don't own there.

All that said, if 2 BRs are where you eventually see your family ending up, I would personally buy at the resort you see yourself staying at the most. I wouldn't want to own PVB or CCV with the hope of trading those points into a 2 BR at the other resort on a regular basis.

That is helpful information, and I had been curious about the numbers. If I am realistic with how my DH wants to stretch the points, we will likely be staying at Wilderness Lodge the most due to the lower point chart, and Poly would be more of an occasional splurge. Especially with my kids really connecting with Wilderness Lodge over Poly. Those dedicated 2 bedrooms will be a must for us. I am able to do deluxe studios that fit 5 when it’s just me, and my girls doing Disney race weekends, but when I add in the boys for our annual family reunion type trips, we will always need those 2 bedrooms. I can see us outgrowing those fast too with my daughter bringing her boyfriend, and needing to add an additional studio for him. Once those grand-babies arrive, we will be in grand villa territory, needing more points.

 

[Makai]

I agree with @Mikey15 up above with CC. Your 150 points will stretch further than PIT. We own 100 at Poly for PIT (we don't like the OG longhouses,) and 100 is bupkiss for booking. We've borrowed the max since we bought in last year and I'm really bummed we don't have 300 there. I agree with you that BR aesthetics are better than CC, but you can always enjoy the BR amenities/lobby/fireplace during the holidays, and the whole WL complex is amazing at the holidays. CC looks good with the refurb, too.

Also, PIT 2Bs, only the lockoffs are the resort/low-point view. Once you get into dedicated 2Bs, it's preferred and theme park views only, which are very high, or the Penthouses, which are astronomical, in my opinion. You'll need at least 300 points to do a week there in a 2B, maybe 400.

I thought I was getting closer to choosing Poly, but am now watching more of those beautiful Wilderness Lodge videos, and it’s drawing me in.

I wish we had liked CCV more than Boulder Ridge though. I have only stayed one night at Wilderness Lodge and didn’t like the hotel room interior in the main building (loud, no carpet, thin walls). Haven’t stayed yet in a villa though since the refurb, but toured it in May. We all fell in love with Boulder Ridge. Just to be anywhere at Wilderness Lodge though is dreamy!

 

[MartyParty]

• Am I crazy to pass over VDH with our history there, and continued California visits even though we now go to Florida more? Is there anything I am overlooking?

We own and both VDH and Poly. Between the two, I think Poly direct would be the way to go.

+ Incentives aside Poly direct is slight less expensive than VDH
+ I suspect Poly will be more difficult to book versus the heavy loaded studios at VDH
+ At the 7 month mark we've used Poly, BLT, and OKW points at VGC and VDH
+ Poly maintenance fees are some of the best.
+ With the addition of Poly Tower to the existing Poly, lots of room variety
+ I believe you're correct Poly resale will have slightly higher value compared to other WDW resorts
- Poly points chart per night is on the higher side but you can use those points anywhere even upcoming Lake Shore

 

[Makai]

If it sounds like you’re already “point starved” and willing to add points on in the future above and beyond the 150 direct. With that in mind I think I would consider CCV direct:

It sounds like your family prefers the WL rooms… BRV even more so but you can go for those a 7mo but have CCV if you need it.
Dues aren’t as low as Poly but $9.02 versus $8.33 isn’t particularly large a difference.
Poly bookings are more point hungry than CCV or BRV.
Poly tower and CCV both deal with the 4-person studio limitation… though I suppose PVB points give 11mo access to the 5-person longhouse studios too.

Moreover, you won’t always be able to get “sold-out” CCV for about the same price as Poly, as you can right now. That’s a “limited time offer.” The Magical Beginnings difference matters less because it sounds like you could readily make use of those first 150 points. Get ‘em banked for 2026 Sep UY if you can’t use them before Aug 31!

Great points to consider, and is making me weigh the CCV option more…..The Wilderness Lodge grounds are amazing, and reminds us of our many family trips to Lake Tahoe (and Grand Californian Resort). If this type of sold out resort sale is not likely to happen again, maybe I should wait on Poly unless they release better incentives. It really comes down to which place will need the 11 month window the most for the first 3 weeks of December, college school breaks, or Disney race weekends. We will likely plan some big trips in weeks with the lowest point charts too. If we do PIT, I would want the Theme Park view 2 bedroom dedicated villas so that would mean choosing the lowest point week if we splurged on it by banking/borrowing, and likely a split stay with an Epcot resort or AKL. Those low dues at Poly though are so tempting….

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I thought I was getting closer to choosing Poly, but am now watching more of those beautiful Wilderness Lodge videos, and it’s drawing me in.

I wish we had liked CCV more than Boulder Ridge though. I have only stayed one night at Wilderness Lodge and didn’t like the hotel room interior in the main building (loud, no carpet, thin walls). Haven’t stayed yet in a villa though since the refurb, but toured it in May. We all fell in love with Boulder Ridge. Just to be anywhere at Wilderness Lodge though is dreamy!

Ohhh, do the video of the CC Grand Villa! It's AMAAZING. I haven't seen it since the refurbishment, but if you think you'll want a GV at some point, it's sooooo nice. We toured it back in maybe 2021, I think it was, and our jaws were on the floor. The cabins are cool, but the GV was sooo cozy, and the decor was chef's kiss.

 

[airjay75]

we will be in grand villa territory

If we're thinking GVs are in the future, PVB has none and CCV has 4. The CCV GV sleeps 12. The best PVB can do are the PIT 2 BRs that sleep 9. If you think there is a decent chance your family is going to grow into GV territory, I'd honestly just cross Poly off your list. It's a significant downside to POLY IMO unless you are pretty certain you're never going to want GVs.

 

[Makai]

If we're thinking GVs are in the future, PVB has none and CCV has 4. The CCV GV sleeps 12. The best PVB can do are the PIT 2 BRs that sleep 9. If you think there is a decent chance your family is going to grow into GV territory, I'd honestly just cross Poly off your list. It's a significant downside to POLY IMO unless you are pretty certain you're never going to want GVs.

Yes, we will likely need them, or I guess we could book two of the 2 bedroom villas, which for us at Hilton Head Island is almost the same amount of points as the GV, with more beds.