First Contract - BLT vs. Poly vs. Riv (Direct)

[emmymac17]

My husband and I are close to making our first purchase but keep getting hung up on the right way to go. A few things - we are looking in the range of 170-200 points as a starting point. We want to go at least every other year for a week, maybe a short stay in the 'off' years. We are in our early 30s with a <2 year old and [no more than] 1 kid planned for the future. We are planners and don't mind planning a ways out and while kid(s) are young have flexible schedules as far as when we take vacation (in fact its easier to take time off for our jobs when its NOT peak travel seasons - summer, holidays, spring break). We typically like a studio for our small family now, but occasionally would like to get a larger place to travel with some extended family or friends. My husband is currently a reservist so we get military benefits and discounts for tickets/direct purchase (for now ). We are mulling the following options and would love some advice/thoughts/things we didn't consider:

Riviera - Direct:
With incentives and military discount, we'd want about 200 points to get the best value.
Pros: Skyliner to two parks, being a 'blue card' member, associated discounts. Beautiful resort and great food options.
Cons: Resale restrictions - while we don't plan on selling and have two stable incomes, impact on resale is a consideration - also impacts add-on ability through resale if we want more points in the future, expensive points chart, maintenance fees (eek)

Polynesian - Resale
Pros: Great atmosphere, large studios, great transportation options and location, pools/amenities/restaurants - general Disney 'resort' feel
Cons: Only studios - bungalows probably realistically out of reach for a while

Bay Lake Tower - Resale
Pros: Walk to Magic Kingdom! Lots of room options
Cons: Other amenities not as great as Poly or Riv (pool, etc.), my husband thinks its kinda 'sterile' and wants somewhere that feels more vacation-y

We'd be buying all cash - so can get similar number of points as Riv for a significant discount but am I missing something - are the blue card benefits over the life of the contract worth the $8-$10k difference up front? Wouldn't rule out buying direct from disney at some point in the future or adding on as our family grows, frequency of trips, travel party, etc.

Thanks!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

The only thing that makes the blue card worth it are the APs imho. Since your husband is military you get the really great military discount rates so the APs probably are not worth it. In this case, I would put the extra money into a resale contract. I like BLT or GFV over poly - but this is what makes dvc so great. If you buy RR direct, break it into two 100 point contracts - do not buy as one large contract.

 

[macman123]

I own 555 BLT, of which 155 are direct.

Buy where you want to stay in case you can't get anywhere else.

 

[limace]

If you’re going to be using military tickets and not buying APs, I don’t think direct makes sense.

 

[sethschroeder]

Direct benefit is based in the AP discounts really.

How much longer will you get military tickets? Not sure how they compare to the AP.

Remeber resale points can lt be used at RIV so if you buy there don't expect to add on resale and stay at RIV.

Poly is a no go with our two kids as I want that 2Br or at least a 1Br. I can see myself once and a while maybe doing a studio but not every trip with the kids.

 

[emmymac17]

Our goal is for him to get his 20 years and retire - so we’d have military benefits for life. The Salute tickets are 4,5 or 6 days and work out to almost 50% off and the other discounts aren’t nearly as good but still like 10%ish.

if you don’t mind - how old are your kids? We are trying to figure out when we’ll be DONE packing into a studio

Direct benefit is based in the AP discounts really.

How much longer will you get military tickets? Not sure how they compare to the AP.

Remeber resale points can lt be used at RIV so if you buy there don't expect to add on resale and stay at RIV.

Poly is a no go with our two kids as I want that 2Br or at least a 1Br. I can see myself once and a while maybe doing a studio but not every trip with the kids.

 

[sethschroeder]

Our goal is for him to get his 20 years and retire - so we’d have military benefits for life. The Salute tickets are 4,5 or 6 days and work out to almost 50% off and the other discounts aren’t nearly as good but still like 10%ish.

if you don’t mind - how old are your kids? We are trying to figure out when we’ll be DONE packing into a studio

3 and 1

I can't imagine being in the same room. They can barely sleep if they are in the same room and they go to be at like 8PM EST which isn't exactly my idea of vacation haha.

Came in as a savior this last trip as well since the youngest was 6 months old and help to have seperate room for her.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Summer is not peak time for DVC. Mid-Sept through mid-Jan is peak time for DVC. You may need to own the resort you like the best to book a studio during that time frame. Early Dec is hard at seven months out. One bedrooms beat a studio every time. Washer and dryer. Full kitchen. Those come in handy with small children.

The biggest perk for direct purchase is the ability to buy a Gold AP. If you only go every other year, you have no need for an AP. So skip the direct purchase unless you really want RIV.

 

[LTJoeFlo]

First off....Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

We purchased when I was active-duty and a Florida resident. Our first contract was at Grand Floridian and we earned our blue card. DVC didn't provide any benefits that we weren't already eligible for. We are now days away from our third direct contract. Very good arguments can be made for both direct and resale purchases. There is no right answer. It is a decision that is best for your family. I noticed that DVC offers discounts for military members...this was not offered when I purchased.

We will be purchasing 225 points at Riviera next week. The reason that we are doing it, is because we value flexibility more than cost. Since we purchased VGF, there have been 3 new resorts. We want to be able to stay at all Disney resorts (past and future), not just resorts developed prior to Riviera. This is most likely a perk that is only meaningful to younger couples. We are also in our 30s so we still have many years of future WDW vacations.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[i<3riviera]

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[skippytx]

I'm a BLT fan as I care (or cared at the time of purchase) about location more than anything. I actually like the styling of the resort and not having it over the top themed. That's me though, other people like that.

Right now my opinions are kind of in flux. Normally we like to split our days up. Rope drop 1 park early, take a mid day break, and finish the evening at Magic Kingdom. Of course this was before park hours started getting cut, and of course Covid. You can't really waste the time when the parks don't open until 9 or 10 and they close at 8 or 9 now. It was common a couple of years ago for MK to be open until 11 or 12 multiple nights a week, and even sometimes EMH's until 1 or 2AM (those were the best). Morning EMH hours could start as early as 7 or 8 for some parks. For the record park hours were getting cut back way before Covid to contain costs. It's been something I haven't been thrilled about, plus the proliferation of the hard ticket events closing MK early up to 4 nights a week.

In the current state of WDW I think location matters less than it did. My kids are also older than when we originally bought, so no strollers, mid day naps, etc anymore and that colors my opinion right now as well.

I can't tell you which resort you should spend your money buying into, but I do want to remind you there is soooo much more money involved than your initial purchase buy in. Travel expenses, tickets, annual dues, the money you spend in the parks. That all adds up to be way more significant over the years than the DVC initial buy in. So buy where you really want to and don't stress about the initial purchase price. You don't want to spend 25K-30K and regret not spending a little more to get what you really wanted. For me the right decision was BLT. I like the mix of room sizes, the location, the end date of the contract, and the lower annual dues.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

I'd go with BLT resale from those options with Poly a close 2nd.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

3 and 1

I can't imagine being in the same room. They can barely sleep if they are in the same room and they go to be at like 8PM EST which isn't exactly my idea of vacation haha.

Came in as a savior this last trip as well since the youngest was 6 months old and help to have seperate room for her.

I agree - my kids are much older at 20 and 18 now and will not go if we are in a studio. they quickly outgrew the studio room.
OP actually I lean towards BLT or GF for the option of more room choices. BLT has top of the world lounge which is really nice too.

 

[SG131]

I personally wouldn’t touch riv due to the resale restrictions, but I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about that. I own at BLT. The one downside is that the studios are small. Though I only have one age 3 right now and I would prefer a 1 bedroom to a studio. He won’t sleep if I’m up moving around in the room though or have the tv on so it’s nice to have a larger room. One of my favorite things about BLT in non-covid times is the boat between it, wilderness lodge and fort wilderness. It makes a few more restaurants very easy to get to.

 

[RoseGold]

I’m not clear why RIV is on here at all, unless you four figure LOVE it or really want future resorts or something.

It sounds like you love the feel of poly like I do, which is why I bought poly points, but also want flexibility to do other stuff, which is why I bought SSR points. SSR might meet your needs, depending on when you are traveling.

Purely financially, I would pick BLT for resale value. When it becomes a legacy chart as points continue to inflate, it will get more valuable. Its chart is already looking like a steal next to RIV. That’s just my crystal ball, yours is as good as mine. Like your husband, I hate the non-theming,so BLT (and RIV) are not for me.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I agree with others who have said that the only reason to buy direct is for AP discounts. If you have access to other AP discounts, I would not bother with direct. Poly resale is a great deal and the studios are great. BLT is a pricier resale but I love the location. There are other great resorts you may find a better fit.

 

[sethschroeder]

BLT is a pricier resale but I love the location.

Actually you can likely get BLT for between $130-135 maybe even a touch below.

So it's not too bad for a park adjecent resort.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I love Poly (and own resale there), so I’m biased. BLT location is great but we agree with your DH and don’t like the theming. I can’t stand RR, it’s small, unimpressive and I just don’t get the hype. We have 5 kids and we squeeze into 2 Poly studios (with my parents as well) just fine, but we’re hardly in the rooms anyway so it depends on your style, but it’s doable. Either way you choose, congrats! It’s a good dilemma to have!

 

[TCRAIG]

1 - I would NOT buy RIV due to the points charts - their 1BR premium is only 61 points less than a 2BR STD at VGF in May (my understanding is the majority of RIV rooms will be premium)
2 - I would NOT buy POLY due to studios only - who knows - you may have triplets next time
3 - and while I do not care for the BLT esthetics - it’s where I bought for LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION and a variety of room sizes and points to book them.

 

[i<3riviera]

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