Direct purchase Poly or VDH dilemma

[PolyRob]

This may not be the cheapest option since you won't get many incentives, but you could split your purchase and do something like 50 VDH and 100 PVB in your preferred UY. You can still take MB this way since you're purchasing 150+ points. At least you could when I last checked with my guide.

It may be annoying to plan with the resale BRV in a different UY, but if you really hate it I would even consider selling it and using the money for your direct points or getting another BRV in your preferred UY. Not being able to reserve the days you want for something this expensive is frustrating.

 

[Patmcpsu]

If you don't like your December use year contract, maybe cut your losses and sell it. Buy a resale VDH contract for your Disneyland needs (and add 32 years of life beyond your current 2042 contract) - I understand that this adds cost, but it would set you up with a use year you actually enjoy and lets you book VDH at 11 months. Then buy Poly direct to get the Blue Card and also have unrestricted points to work with.

It's not my money, but it resolves all the issues that you mentioned. If it helps, the additional costs will be offset by better long term resale value.

 

[airjay75]

If I were in your shoes, I would buy direct VDH over PVB, and I'd get the UY you want - deal with the resale contract separately. If you are finding a December UY annoying, you do not want to live with that until 2074. And, VDH, as a restricted resort, is one where you should be buying for the long haul. With resale, you can much more easily change your mind, sell, and buy a new one. I wouldn't buy resale VDH because prices there are still pretty high compared to direct, and the savings would not be enough for me to justify not having the long-term flexibility of direct VDH points.

I am not at DLR person - haven't been in years and don't plan to go for years. But everything I have learned from others on these boards is that, if you want to stay at VDH or VGC, you either need to own there and book before 7 months or get very lucky. If you regularly want to go to DLR and stay on property, owning there makes much more sense that buying PVB and rolling the dice, hoping to use your points at VDH.

On the flip side, availability at the island tower is probably the worst it will ever be. It's an actively selling resort, the newest and shiniest thing, and it had a ton of existing PVB association points that could instantly book it even though they are only declaring PIT units into inventory as they sell PIT points. I think it very much remains to be seen just how difficult availability will be there at the 7-month mark after it is fully declared - the points chart is very high, and I think after the newness wears off, it will become much easier to book there. I'd much rather roll the dice trying to get into PVB at 7-months than I would VDH - and, you can use resale points there, which you can't at VDH.

On your BRV resale - if money were no object, I'd sell it and buy direct PVB points instead. Next best option, sell it and buy resale with the UY you want and match it to your direct points - personally, I'd ditch BRV and look at other options for resale. Last option, which I think is also totally workable too, just keep it, and manage the multiple UYs, transferring once per year if you need to.

 

[intamin]

This may not be the cheapest option since you won't get many incentives, but you could split your purchase and do something like 50 VDH and 100 PVB in your preferred UY. You can still take MB this way since you're purchasing 150+ points. At least you could when I last checked with my guide.

It may be annoying to plan with the resale BRV in a different UY, but if you really hate it I would even consider selling it and using the money for your direct points or getting another BRV in your preferred UY. Not being able to reserve the days you want for something this expensive is frustrating.

I thought about this too as an option and it would be nice to have as a best of both worlds but this is only if OP is okay with studios only. Poly is pretty point heavy and the 50 at VDH wouldn't cut it for a 1BR at least regularly. I think the answer is more points of each kidding. sort of.

 

[Chili327]

It may be annoying to plan with the resale BRV in a different UY, but if you really hate it I would even consider selling it and using the money for your direct points or getting another BRV in your preferred UY. Not being able to reserve the days you want for something this expensive is frustrating.

Yep, this!!

Buy VDH direct in whatever UY works best for you, then sell the BRV and replace it with whatever resort you want & match your new VDH UY. (Poly resale, RIV direct add-on, etc)

 

[juliebee]

We own VDH direct and poly resale. If you need a 1 or 2 bedroom at VDH priority is a must. Poly you have a much better chance with the Theme park view rooms due to points chart on the 1 and 2 bedrooms. For studio availability Poly Longhouses are a ton easier to get than VDH at 7 months. Poly tower studio would be harder. You only pay the transient occupancy tax at VDH if you use the points there. I would buy VDH especially with the up front price difference.

Now on choice. It’s VDH. Sure the studios are fairly easy for up to a week most of the year. It’s when you want a Duo or especially any garden room. That’s correct..”Garden” category. Want it?..then must own it. Limited number of larger villas make booking odds much better if own. VDH is not one of the resorts where 1 bedrooms stay available longer than studios.

As mentioned, TOT is on stays, not a yearly fee. If have any thought of selling, then go PVB for the older resale rules. Otherwise don’t worry about the resale restrictions. Will still make something back on a VDH contract.

I thought about this too as an option and it would be nice to have as a best of both worlds but this is only if OP is okay with studios only. Poly is pretty point heavy and the 50 at VDH wouldn't cut it for a 1BR at least regularly. I think the answer is more points of each kidding. sort of.

Since it's just the two of us, we are happy in studios and might even try a duo. 1 bedroom or bigger at VDH isn't something I'm interested in currently.
Good point on the TOT at VDH, I was glad to hear it's only for using points there!

 

[juliebee]

This may not be the cheapest option since you won't get many incentives, but you could split your purchase and do something like 50 VDH and 100 PVB in your preferred UY. You can still take MB this way since you're purchasing 150+ points. At least you could when I last checked with my guide.

Buy a resale VDH contract for your Disneyland needs (and add 32 years of life beyond your current 2042 contract) - I understand that this adds cost, but it would set you up with a use year you actually enjoy and lets you book VDH at 11 months. Then buy Poly direct to get the Blue Card and also have unrestricted points to work with.

It's not my money, but it resolves all the issues that you mentioned. If it helps, the additional costs will be offset by better long term resale value.

That is an interesting thought and maybe I should approach this purchase as a two-part purchase. I wouldn't be able to get both contracts now, but perhaps planning to get one small VDH contract and one PVB contract would be the overall best choice. However, we don't travel enough to warrant buying points in every resort we love, so in all likelihood the next contract will be our last contract.

As for length of contract, that doesn't really matter much to me as I'm in my 50s and my husband in his mid 60s. Which is actually why we originally bought BRV-- the 2042 expiration doesn't bother me one bit.

On your BRV resale - if money were no object, I'd sell it and buy direct PVB points instead. Next best option, sell it and buy resale with the UY you want and match it to your direct points - personally, I'd ditch BRV and look at other options for resale. Last option, which I think is also totally workable too, just keep it, and manage the multiple UYs, transferring once per year if you need to.

Yep, this!!

Buy VDH direct in whatever UY works best for you, then sell the BRV and replace it with whatever resort you want & match your new VDH UY. (Poly resale, RIV direct add-on, etc)

Selling the BRV contract is probably not an option for my husband. It's his favorite resort. It's been a great contract for us and the only negative is that I purchased a December use year. I can work around the December use year for the most part, but it does kill those late November-early December stays.

 

[juliebee]

I see the overwhelming response is to buy VDH. And I do see the point for that, which is why I am struggling with this decision.

My heart wants the fixed week Poly contract however-- it's at a time of year we'd actually love to travel to WDW and it's a more difficult time to get reservations. If we got that fixed week, we'd use it approximately 50% of the years. The other years we'd use some of the points to go to VDH.
If we get VDH points, we would plan to use about 60-75 points there about every 12-18 months. The other points would be used at WDW or Aulani. Which is the majority of the points used outside of the home resort.

I just looked at the DVC Rental Store availability calculator and it looks like VDH has pretty open availability at 6-7 months for VDH. I'm not sure if that is just because 7 months is July and nobody goes in July or if that is regularly the availability for a studio. If that is the normal availability, then using direct Poly points there may not be an issue.

You all are very wise about DVC, so this is why I'm asking about where is the smartest place for me to purchase. I don't want to regret my choice and you are all bringing great points to this discussion.

 

[Brian Noble]

I guess I would go VDH direct.

This is my lean as well.

 

[Wedgeout]

Also if in any way you are one moment all in VDH & the next all in for PVB, I’d wait until LSL is completed with info on it. Focus on it & watch it come to life. It might become THE choice. Rent meanwhile for VDH. (Any DVC points purchased should have a personal connection, bonding you to that resort).

 

[airjay75]

Selling the BRV contract is probably not an option for my husband. It's his favorite resort. It's been a great contract for us and the only negative is that I purchased a December use year. I can work around the December use year for the most part, but it does kill those late November-early December stays.

I totally get that. And I think it is totally workable to keep that contract and have direct points with a different UY. That said, I’d just note you could always keep an eye out for a BRV resale contract with a UY that matches your direct points and then sell your December UY contract after the new one is loaded onto your account. Might not cost as much as you’d think if the right contract comes along. Just another option to consider.

 

[disneylandtour]

I’m considering a direct DVC purchase (150–160 points) and would love input on VDH vs Poly and use year.

We’re a couple, stay in studios, and already own Boulder Ridge resale. We live on the West Coast and want to do one 3–4 night Disneyland trip every 12-18 months and 7–8 nights annually at WDW with a sprinkle of Aulani every couple years instead.

Our resale points limit us to VGC, so availability at Disneyland is tough. Buying direct would open VDH, but we don’t really need that many points at Disneyland. I love the Polynesian (stayed in the longhouses pre-tower) and if we go Poly, we’d get a fixed week contract to use occasionally. However the actual problem we’re trying to solve is access to VDH. I’d hate to get a Poly contract and not be able to get into VDH and end up frustrated. How is VDH studio access at 7 months if we go for the Poly contract?

The overall purchase cost difference is about $2100- Poly is higher. Dues higher at VDH by over $2/pt.

Which would you advise I buy—VDH or Poly—and why?
Also, I hate our current December use year. It's hard to walk a reservation into December or stay late Nov/early Dec. How painful would it be to make the direct contract a September use year since my resale contract is December?

VDH downsides - higher MFs, which is significant.

VDH upsides - I assume this will be very difficult to book once sold out and the 11-month advantage will matter more here than in Florida. I have some Poly points. But also I regularly (REGULARLY) stay at poly with points from my other contracts. In the last year, I've stayed there four times. Two of those times were booked entirely with other (SAP) points. I'm thinking of buying some VDH because I assume it will be difficult to find spots there (like GCV presently) once it sells out (though that's probably years away).

 

[atthebeachclub]

VDH direct and if you want you can add a small Poly contract (direct or resale) on top. That’s my vote. There is more availability at WDW than Disneyland, and I would always prefer points usable closer to home in case travel circumstances change.

OR if you really are only in need of 70 points at VDH every 12 months, buy Poly (direct so it can also be used at VDH) and add 70 points at VDH too.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I see the overwhelming response is to buy VDH. And I do see the point for that, which is why I am struggling with this decision.

My heart wants the fixed week Poly contract however-- it's at a time of year we'd actually love to travel to WDW and it's a more difficult time to get reservations. If we got that fixed week, we'd use it approximately 50% of the years. The other years we'd use some of the points to go to VDH.
If we get VDH points, we would plan to use about 60-75 points there about every 12-18 months. The other points would be used at WDW or Aulani. Which is the majority of the points used outside of the home resort.

I just looked at the DVC Rental Store availability calculator and it looks like VDH has pretty open availability at 6-7 months for VDH. I'm not sure if that is just because 7 months is July and nobody goes in July or if that is regularly the availability for a studio. If that is the normal availability, then using direct Poly points there may not be an issue.

You all are very wise about DVC, so this is why I'm asking about where is the smartest place for me to purchase. I don't want to regret my choice and you are all bringing great points to this discussion.

“However the actual problem we’re trying to solve is access to VDH. I’d hate to get a Poly contract and not be able to get into VDH and end up frustrated.”

 

[intamin]

Since it's just the two of us, we are happy in studios and might even try a duo. 1 bedroom or bigger at VDH isn't something I'm interested in currently.
Good point on the TOT at VDH, I was glad to hear it's only for using points there!

50 at VDH at 100 at Poly is a pretty good compromise IMO. Alternatively you could do 100 VDH/50 Poly but 50 points at Poly really is almost nothing just because it's up there with VGF for point charts

 

[juliebee]

Also if in any way you are one moment all in VDH & the next all in for PVB, I’d wait until LSL is completed with info on it. Focus on it & watch it come to life. It might become THE choice. Rent meanwhile for VDH. (Any DVC points purchased should have a personal connection, bonding you to that resort).

I am very interested in LSL- I don't see keeping BRV and buying LSL, so I'd have to convince my husband of that swap.

This is my lean as well.

“However the actual problem we’re trying to solve is access to VDH. I’d hate to get a Poly contract and not be able to get into VDH and end up frustrated.”

I know, I know I think I want these points to be the magic solution for ALL my wishes... but I'm going to have to focus on what the bigger goal is. Was hoping all 3 goals could be realized.
Goals:
1. Points available to use at VDL
2. Direct member benefits
3. WDW vacations most Decembers - looks like this one might not happen if purchasing VDL. But would happen if buying favorite week at PVB.

 

[Sandisw]

I am very interested in LSL- I don't see keeping BRV and buying LSL, so I'd have to convince my husband of that swap.



I know, I know I think I want these points to be the magic solution for ALL my wishes... but I'm going to have to focus on what the bigger goal is. Was hoping all 3 goals could be realized.
Goals:
1. Points available to use at VDL
2. Direct member benefits
3. WDW vacations most Decembers - looks like this one might not happen if purchasing VDL. But would happen if buying favorite week at PVB.

Another thought? Go with the FW at Poly. Then, in a few years, maybe the pricing for a VDH resale will be lower that allows you to ouch that up?

Especially if you are only doing 12 to 18 months? Dec is a busy DVC time and you do one BRV so that is a plus. But if your want Poly for that toned I’d go FW.

Which is a change from my other post.

 

[Genie+]

3. WDW vacations most Decembers - looks like this one might not happen if purchasing VDL. But would happen if buying favorite week at PVB.

It kind of comes down to this ^ Not always getting into VDH, or not always getting into Poly.

There’s always some kind of trade off when choosing which DVC.

I think VDH wins. There’s more opportunity for booking non-home resorts at WDW than DL, and you already have some WDW points.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Another thought? Go with the FW at Poly. Then, in a few years, maybe the pricing for a VDH resale will be lower that allows you to ouch that up?

Especially if you are only doing 12 to 18 months? Dec is a busy DVC time and you do one BRV so that is a plus. But if your want Poly for that toned I’d go FW.

Which is a change from my other post.

The inflexibility to EVER use the points at WDW and Aulani…. restricted resale is not worth it, IMO.

 

[cruisehopeful]

When you say your heart wants a fixed week at Poly, I want to push you to get that. I'd hate for you to regret not getting it for the rest of your life.