First time DVC buyer: New Poly tower direct, or resale?

[lilsonicfan]

The prospect of paying for years of dues before my first trip did not cross my mind. Thank you for bringing that up. That being said, many of the contracts I see for say (Oct UY) have 2024 dues paid for and contingencies for 2025 (if those points are missing). But it’s something to look out for, definitely.

Not to harp on this point- but the thing about dues is they are payable in Jan of the calendar year even if your UY is later in the year. So right now we are in the Oct 2024 UY, that use year just started. But that owner paid their 2024 dues in Jan 2024. If you bought now, you’d be on the hook for paying 2025 UY dues in Jan 2025, and so on in Jan 2026 and Jan 2027 before your trip even occurs in March 2027. So even though your trip would be in your 2026 UY and even if you used banked 2025 points, you’d have paid 3 years of dues before getting to enjoy the points. Which, of course is not a problem per se, it is just something to consider in your purchase of resale.

When buying direct, I believe you do pay dues on a pro-rated basis for the calendar year in which you buy.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Most people cannot bring themselves to admit ignorance, even to strangers on the internet.

But I’d also say this group isn’t probably a representative sample - I think a lot of the direct owners here really do own direct on purpose and would do it again, but I think most direct DVC owners overall would have been perfectly happy with resale.

Agree. I think a little resale contract would work well for some people. The people I think it would work best for sometimes buy direct, which surprises me. Like, a couple, never having children, going infrequently but always during peak times when they do go? Those folks should strongly consider resale (this example is courtesy of Facebook; it was actually someone I knew in real life, and no, I didn’t tell them about resale after they posted about their purchase) and weigh the costs vs benefits.

With large families (5+), I think the value of direct can be seen more readily due to potential cheaper annual passes (which can make sense if you can get two trips out of them and then skip a year) vs ticket prices.

We’ve so far compromised and done only resale points + 1 annual pass for one family member to get discounts and a full year of photopass at a lower price. If we throw in another trip, annual passes for all make sense.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Mostly my argument was, it seems like a majority of people on this forum own some level of direct. So did everyone start direct out of ignorance of resale cost savings? Or did they start resale and then realize they needed the direct benefits? Maybe there have been crazy direct fire sales I’m not aware of.

We started with resale. We then added on 150 direct at RIV partially for the blue card but also for future resort access. We do have a very small RIV resale but we won’t do more resale there.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

We also traveled once evey other year and rented points several times before I was brave enough to buy.

Advice I would have given myself years ago: Save the money and buy DVC. You won't likely make the perfect choice so dont waste years overthinking.

Gold luck!

Oh, buy the Poly. It's what you compare everything else against.

 

[Chili327]

Advice I would have given myself years ago: Save the money and buy D.V.C. You won't likely make the perfect choice so don't waste years overthinking.

Solid advice!

 

[Road_Dog]

I appreciate all the advice everyone has given me. I keep getting hit with decision paralysis. It's comforting to know that I can use my points to stay wherever I want, but everyone keeps harping about "buy where you want to stay" which I totally understand. And I think I definitely would say Poly wins out over BLT for myself and my family.

My daughter is only 2.5 but is absolutely in love with Moana--not sure how long that will last but I think the theming would be a big hit with her. My wife and I also honeymooned in Hawaii, which we loved (our only complaint was the travel time to get there from Chicago). While we'll probably go back someday (hello Aulani), getting "a taste" of tropical life when we go to Disney would be very special for us. Other things like the pools are probably a wash--our kids are going to love whatever pool there is. The walk to MK from BLT sounds so so so amazing, and it would be a fine consolation for us. Hell, maybe after doing it once or twice, I'll wonder why I'd ever want to deal with the crowded monorails at Poly I think in theory, I'd love to get an 11-month booked at Poly and then we could discuss "saving" points by seeing what BLT has at 7-months.

However, the fact that Poly points:
A) Cost more (BLT contract at $123/point, Poly contract at $163)
B) Don't go as far (i've been eyeing up around 160 points for both properties)

keeps bringing me back to BLT!

The downside to this is, I'm not sure even a 2-year cycle (effectively 320 points) would get me as much wiggle room at Poly. We'd primarily travel during travel period 5 (October/November for son's birthday, wife's birthday, and MNSSHP), or travel period 6 (when it's winter up north, daughter's birthday is March). A studio will be anywhere from 160-248 points depending on view, and the 2-bedroom 450-700 depending on view (so I'd either need a bank and borrow situation to get a 2-bedroom at Poly, or I'd need to buy more points down the line).

Meanwhile at BLT, we'd easily have enough for a Studio every year without banking or borrowing, could easily get a 1-bedroom with banking, and would only need the smallest amount of "bank and borrow" for a 2-bedroom.

Am I crazy to consider a resale contract for Aulani or AK? I'm seeing one for Aulani that is 250 points at $99/point and at AK for 270 points at $99, which is going to run me the same cost as 160 points at Poly. Yes, the dues are roughly $2/point higher than BLT and $1/point higher than Poly. I'm sure that can/will add up. But if I want to risk 11-month availability and book WDW Resorts at 7-months, I'd have far more to work with to secure the room type I want. Also, I imagine we'll go to Aulani at some point in the future, but we'd probably wait at least 5+ years until the kids are older and could appreciate Hawaii more. On the flip side, we'd probably actually stay at AK at some point. Especially because the 2-bedroom SV seems super affordable from a point standpoint. I hear many great things, my only gripe is having to use bus transportation exclusively.

All in all, I feel the cost discussion comes down to "how much do I value the 11-month booking window", which I think only you seasoned/veteran DVC members can answer for me! It seems like the general consensus is to always make a booking at the 11-month mark, and then explore other options at 7-months, so choosing a home resort is all about picking a resort you can fall back on (if nothing is available at 7-months) and be happy with. I'm more curious how "difficult" it is to book places like Poly, VGF, or BLT at 7-months. For example, I'm looking 7-months out for cash stays at Poly right now (so May 15th) and I'm seeing availability for basically every room type. This probably has a lot to do with the new towers opening up availability, or May not being as busy of a travel period, but either way, it's reassuring that we could potentially get a standard view studio there at 7-months.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I appreciate all the advice everyone has given me. I keep getting hit with decision paralysis. It's comforting to know that I can use my points to stay wherever I want, but everyone keeps harping about "buy where you want to stay" which I totally understand. And I think I definitely would say Poly wins out over BLT for myself and my family.

My daughter is only 2.5 but is absolutely in love with Moana--not sure how long that will last but I think the theming would be a big hit with her. My wife and I also honeymooned in Hawaii, which we loved (our only complaint was the travel time to get there from Chicago). While we'll probably go back someday (hello Aulani), getting "a taste" of tropical life when we go to Disney would be very special for us. Other things like the pools are probably a wash--our kids are going to love whatever pool there is. The walk to MK from BLT sounds so so so amazing, and it would be a fine consolation for us. Hell, maybe after doing it once or twice, I'll wonder why I'd ever want to deal with the crowded monorails at Poly I think in theory, I'd love to get an 11-month booked at Poly and then we could discuss "saving" points by seeing what BLT has at 7-months.

However, the fact that Poly points:
A) Cost more (BLT contract at $123/point, Poly contract at $163)
B) Don't go as far

keeps bringing me back to BLT!

The downside to this is, I'm not sure even a 2-year cycle (effectively 320 points) would get me as much wiggle room at Poly. We'd primarily travel during travel period 5 (October/November for son's birthday, wife's birthday, and MNSSHP), or travel period 6 (when it's winter up north, daughter's birthday is March). A studio will be anywhere from 160-248 points depending on view, and the 2-bedroom 450-700 depending on view (so I'd either need a bank and borrow situation to get a 2-bedroom at Poly, or I'd need to buy more points down the line).

Meanwhile at BLT, we'd easily have enough for a Studio every year without banking or borrowing, could easily get a 1-bedroom with banking, and would only need the smallest amount of "bank and borrow" for a 2-bedroom.

Am I crazy to consider a resale contract for Aulani or AK? I'm seeing one for Aulani that is 250 points at $99/point and at AK for 270 points at $99, which is going to run me the same cost as 160 points at Poly. Yes, the dues are roughly $2/point higher than BLT and $1/point higher than Poly. I'm sure that can/will add up. But if I want to risk 11-month availability and book WDW Resorts at 7-months, I'd have far more to work with to secure the room type I want. Also, I imagine we'll go to Aulani at some point in the future, but we'd probably wait at least 5+ years until the kids are older and could appreciate Hawaii more. On the flip side, we'd probably actually stay at AK at some point. Especially because the 2-bedroom SV seems super affordable from a point standpoint. I hear many great things, my only gripe is having to use bus transportation exclusively.

All in all, I feel the cost discussion comes down to "how much do I value the 11-month booking window", which I think only you seasoned/veteran DVC members can answer for me! It seems like the general consensus is to always make a booking at the 11-month mark, and then explore other options at 7-months, so choosing a home resort is all about picking a resort you can fall back on (if nothing is available at 7-months) and be happy with.

Tell me how many Poly points at what price you would be buying and I will give you some numbers for all 3 options to think about.

 

[Road_Dog]

Tell me how many Poly points at what price you would be buying and I will give you some numbers for all 3 options to think about.

Thanks! Roughly I'm seeing 150-160 points at Poly is around $163/point which would probably be the very top-end of what is doable for us paying cash and not financing.

 

[supercarrie]

I'm more curious how "difficult" it is to book places like Poly, VGF, or BLT at 7-months. For example, I'm looking 7-months out for cash stays at Poly right now (so May 15th) and I'm seeing availability for basically every room type. This probably has a lot to do with the new towers opening up availability, or May not being as busy of a travel period, but either way, it's reassuring that we could potentially get a standard view studio there at 7-months.

Quick note - you can't rely on cash inventory to compare 7 month DVC availability. It is a completely different inventory bucket with different booking patterns than DVC availability.

I would check out the availability tables at www.dvcfieldguide.com for specific DVC resort availability averages which may help guide your decision.

More specifically:
Poly studios are soon to be the most plentiful option in all of DVC (currently, the number of longhouse studios is second only to SSR). They are generally fairly easy to get at 7 months. This is talking about longhouse studios only obviously, TBD on tower studios. I expect 1 and 2 bedrooms to be fairly challenging to get given the number they built, however this may be outweighed by the high points required. TBD on that.

BLT standard view is harder, BLT lake view is fairly easy across the board.

Also, remember that if you need to borrow points for your 11 month Poly booking, but then reduce the number of points for your stay by booking BLT at 7 months, those points are stuck in that use year. There are workarounds (i.e. banking the current year points to offset the borrowed points), but make sure you have a plan on what to do for the excess points. (Rent them out? Use them for a slightly longer stay? Bank current year points to offset the borrowed?)

 

[VGCgroupie]

Here is some numbers. Price you pay per point and total cost if you keep until expiration. Then also price you pay per point and amount you have paid if you sell it after 5 years or 10 years. All these numbers do not reflect future maintenance fee increases.


AK 32 years - $99 - 270 pts
Up front price. 26,730
Total contract price 105,181
Price per year life of contract 3,286
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 38,988
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 51,246
Price per point first 10 years 18.98



Aulani 37 years - $99 - 250 pts.
Up front price. 24,750.
Total contract price 115,030
Price per year life of contract 3,108
Price per point life of contract 12.44
Price paid after 5 years 36,950
Price per point first 5 years 29.56
Price paid after 10 years 49,150
Price per point first 10 years 19.66



Poly 41 years - $163 - 160 pts
Up front price. 26,080
Total contract price 80,068
Price per year life of contract 1,952
Price per point life of contract 12.21
Price paid after 5 years 32,664
Price per point first 5 years 40.83
Price paid after 10 years 39,248
Price per point first 10 years 24.53



And for comparison an AK at 160 pts to compare to Poly 160 pts

AK 32 years - $99 - 160 pts
Up front price. 15,840
Total contract price 62,329
Price per year life of contract 1,947
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 23,104
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 30,368
Price per point first 10 years 18.98

 

[Road_Dog]

I would check out the availability tables at www.dvcfieldguide.com for specific DVC resort availability averages which may help guide your decision.

Wow, what an awesome resource. This is definitely shedding some light with regard to 7-month availability. At first glance, it looks like Poly Studios (standard view) wouldn't be all that difficult to get during our preferred travel times. BLT, on the other hand, seems in more demand for Standard view studios at 7-months. However, Lake View and TP View are plentiful. Also with BLT, 2-bedrooms seem more difficult to get at 7-months than I anticipated. Meanwhile, over at AK, anything "value" is absolutely gone at 7 months but it looks like Savannah view (IMO, a big selling point of staying there) seems easier to get. This tells me, AK as a home resort makes more sense if I want to stay in value as opposed to Savannah.

Also, remember that if you need to borrow points for your 11 month Poly booking, but then reduce the number of points for your stay by booking BLT at 7 months, those points are stuck in that use year. There are workarounds (i.e. banking the current year points to offset the borrowed points), but make sure you have a plan on what to do for the excess points. (Rent them out? Use them for a slightly longer stay? Bank current year points to offset the borrowed?)

Yes, this crossed my mind. It's the downside of having a more expensive resort as your 11-month booking.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Here is some numbers. Price you pay per point and total cost if you keep until expiration. Then also price you pay per point and amount you have paid if you sell it after 5 years or 10 years. All these numbers do not reflect future maintenance fee increases.


AK 32 years - $99 - 270 pts
Up front price. 26,730
Total contract price 105,181
Price per year life of contract 3,286
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 38,988
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 51,246
Price per point first 10 years 18.98



Aulani 37 years - $99 - 250 pts.
Up front price. 24,750.
Total contract price 115,030
Price per year life of contract 3,108
Price per point life of contract 12.44
Price paid after 5 years 36,950
Price per point first 5 years 29.56
Price paid after 10 years 49,150
Price per point first 10 years 19.66



Poly 41 years - $163 - 160 pts
Up front price. 26,080
Total contract price 80,068
Price per year life of contract 1,952
Price per point life of contract 12.21
Price paid after 5 years 32,664
Price per point first 5 years 40.83
Price paid after 10 years 39,248
Price per point first 10 years 24.53



And for comparison an AK at 160 pts to compare to Poly 160 pts

AK 32 years - $99 - 160 pts
Up front price. 15,840
Total contract price 62,329
Price per year life of contract 1,947
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 23,104
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 30,368
Price per point first 10 years 18.98

This is great. Better add in a 160 pt BLT contract to compare; they are plentiful and not hard to get a good price on!

 

[VGCgroupie]

This is great. Better add in a 160 pt BLT contract to compare; they are plentiful and not hard to get a good price on!

What would you say I should price the BLT at? $130?

 

[atthebeachclub]

What would you say I should price the BLT at? $130?

I think you can get a deal anywhere from $113 (great!) to $130…and honestly anywhere in that range is still a pretty good deal, especially if you get last year’s points.

 

[VGCgroupie]

BLT 35 years - $130 - 160 pts
Up front price. 20,800
Total contract price 63,304
Price per year life of contract 1,808
Price per point life of contract 11.30
Price paid after 5 years 26,872
Price per point first 5 years 33.59
Price paid after 10 years 32,944
Price per point first 10 years 20.59

 

[VGCgroupie]

As you can see dues play a big role. $130 at BLT is about the same as AK at $99 all in pricing. But AK your points go farther, you just have to decide which home resort priority you need/want more.

 

[Chili327]

The downside to this is, I'm not sure even a 2-year cycle (effectively 320 points) would get me as much wiggle room at Poly.

This is why people say buy where you want to stay. You will be able to get lake view at BLT at 7 months, but maybe not much available at Poly at 7 months.
I think if Poly is truly where you want to be, you answered your own question.
As far as AK or AUL, I wouldn’t confuse yourself with them, as you can see in the numbers they aren’t THAT much cheaper anyway.

Here is some numbers. Price you pay per point and total cost if you keep until expiration. Then also price you pay per point and amount you have paid if you sell it after 5 years or 10 years. All these numbers do not reflect future maintenance fee increases.

AK 32 years - $99 - 270 pts
Up front price. 26,730
Total contract price 105,181
Price per year life of contract 3,286
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 38,988
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 51,246
Price per point first 10 years 18.98

Aulani 37 years - $99 - 250 pts.
Up front price. 24,750.
Total contract price 115,030
Price per year life of contract 3,108
Price per point life of contract 12.44
Price paid after 5 years 36,950
Price per point first 5 years 29.56
Price paid after 10 years 49,150
Price per point first 10 years 19.66

Poly 41 years - $163 - 160 pts
Up front price. 26,080
Total contract price 80,068
Price per year life of contract 1,952
Price per point life of contract 12.21
Price paid after 5 years 32,664
Price per point first 5 years 40.83
Price paid after 10 years 39,248
Price per point first 10 years 24.53

BLT 35 years - $130 - 160 pts
Up front price. 20,800
Total contract price 63,304
Price per year life of contract 1,808
Price per point life of contract 11.30
Price paid after 5 years 26,872
Price per point first 5 years 33.59
Price paid after 10 years 32,944
Price per point first 10 years 20.59

And for comparison an AK at 160 pts to compare to Poly 160 pts

AK 32 years - $99 - 160 pts
Up front price. 15,840
Total contract price 62,329
Price per year life of contract 1,947
Price per point life of contract 12.17
Price paid after 5 years 23,104
Price per point first 5 years 28.88
Price paid after 10 years 30,368
Price per point first 10 years 18.98

I added your BLT numbers to it.

 

[FinallyFL]

Since your children are still very young, also look at the number of the larger sizer villas in the resorts you are considering. I started with DVC when my daughters were pre-schoolers; my oldest turns 30 in a month. I went from staying a studio in low season when they were young, to a 2-bedroom during Christmas season when there were school athletics/calendars to consider and back to a studio in off season as an empty nester.

I own at BLT and BWV and I only stay at the Poly when I have points to burn due to the cost of a week's stay there. I do visit everytime I'm at BLT to grab a Dole Whip and soak up the atmosphere.

 

[Road_Dog]

Thanks again everyone. Those numbers help show how much closer in long term cost Poly really is compared to other resorts. It’s a tough choice, I’m even looking more and more into CCV. It’s not a monorail but it’s still a MK resort, the boat looks more convenient than I thought, and locking down 11-months there seems more pertinent when you can easily get Savannah views at AKL at 7-months and studios at Poly at 7-months (although that could change with more owners?).

I hope my next update with all of you is the offer I submitted is accepted! Very close to putting in some offers.

 

[disneylandtour]

I 100% agree. While BLT is on the cheaper side, is it hard to book at 7 months? If not, I might be better off buying a cheaper resort (like AKL) and using the points at a place like BLT. That being said, I need the fallback (my home resort) to be something I can comfortably book 11-months out and be EXCITED to go back there if something isn't available at 7 months.

I think this really depends on how many points you have. I have a bunch of SAP (which here are called sleep around points). For me, these are SSR and part of my AKV, which I got super cheap. If I want to go to WDW mid-week February, I'd have almost no trouble booking 90% of the rooms with my SSR points. (I have SSR points, but haven't stayed at SSR in years.). However I also have points that I save for holiday weekends, Christmas, etc.--basically periods when room reservations can be tough. These are my BLT points. I like it there, particularly in winter, But this is a personal opinion. Others like other locations more. And I tend to save about half of my AKV points for value studios or the occasional club reservation. So I think the larger issue, as I see it, is not so much Buy Where You Want To Stay. But have a thoughtful plan as to how you use the points you buy as they relate to price, MF, and a home resort. Right now, I'm looking for either a few CCV or Poly points to add to those that I save for times when the resort is crowded.