Future Maintenance Costs at the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows

[Disn3yVision]

Hello all! DVC newbie here having just purchased 150 points direct at the Poly. We strongly considered buying resale at AKV and even put in a few bids but ultimately decided we wanted to buy direct (for various reasons). Since we live in Cali we then went back and forth between PVB and Aulani, but decided to go with Poly largely because the maintenance fees started off significantly lower. It is still within our 10 day window so we can change our minds if we want and now I'm starting to question that logic...

Which leads me to ask, is the relative ranking of the resort fees now indicative at all of what they will/may/should be in the future? I have read a lot of speculation on these threads that PVB's dues will most likely rise dramatically due to the fact that the bungalows are built over the water. Is this just based on the assumption that things built over water are going to cost more to maintain. Is there any evidence to support this other than "common sense". Are there stats or information on other similar bungalows that were built years ago, like those you find in the Pacific or Caribbean? Why would dues start off so much lower if this was the case? With monthly dues being .70 more already on Aulani, should one assume that they will remain higher than PVB, at least for the foreseeable future?

 

[freediverdude]

My opinion, unless there are structural problems with the supports holding up the bungalows, I don't see why the bungalows would necessarily have more maintenance costs than say a grand villa. There might be some external cleaning or replacing of piping or pumps for the sewage system, but that wouldn't be super duper expensive. I don't really see the Poly dues being any more than any of the other WDW properties. And the Poly doesn't have its own check in desk and staff with a lobby like the VGF or BLT, so that cuts some expenses right there, they just pay a portion for front desk service in the main building.

 

[sndral]

Aulani isn't a great comparison since the dues were set artificially low to start and Hawaii forced DVC to suspend sales and set them at a more accurate (and higher) amount. W/ Poly I'd be more concerned that they redid very old buildings v. a new build, but I'm no construction expert IME older buildings have higher maintenance costs IRL, so I assume that'll be true w/ Poly. Of course the MFs pay for more than just the buildings' upkeep.
Interesting your other thought was AKV as they have one of the highest MFs of the WDW DVCs.

 

[Disn3yVision]

Aulani isn't a great comparison since the dues were set artificially low to start and Hawaii forced DVC to suspend sales and set them at a more accurate (and higher) amount. W/ Poly I'd be more concerned that they redid very old buildings v. a new build, but I'm no construction expert IME older buildings have higher maintenance costs IRL, so I assume that'll be true w/ Poly. Of course the MFs pay for more than just the buildings' upkeep.
Interesting your other thought was AKV as they have one of the highest MFs of the WDW DVCs.

We have little ones (DS2 and DS4) and so Animal kingdom would really appeal to them. Plus DW and I love Indian and African food and AKV has an awesome theme that can really be found on few other resorts on earth. However, ultimately it was the dues and being forced to buy resale that pushed us against it.

I too am worried about the age of the buildings.. I try to tell myself that relatively speaking they are not that old. There are tons of buildings hundreds of years old that have stood the test of time but I am still worried if I am honest with myself. When they renovated PVB does anybody know if they replaced things such as wiring, support structures, insulation, etc??? Or was it more about the furnishings and decorations?

 

[sndral]

I believe they gutted the longhouses to the steel beams, so they started from scratch on the inside.
I understand the appeal of AKV - that's where we own
My avatar didn't give it away did it?

 

[freediverdude]

Like I said, yes pretty much everything is new with the DVC Poly buildings except the structural steel and roof, and even the roof tiles get gradually replaced every so often. All of the Poly buildings, even the hotel ones, have all had pretty much everything replaced over the years, including the exterior wood, and they just finished replacing the bottom of the exterior beams that hold up the balconies on all the buildings. There's really no need to worry about any of these buildings still having wiring or plumbing from 1971, lol, it's all long been replaced. The DVC interior walls, wiring, plumbing, and furnishings are newer than the VGF building.

 

[suebeelin]

Have you thought about buying a resale aulani with subsidized dues, since you're on the west coast?

 

[disneynutz]

IMO the dues seem to be low until the resort sells out of direct points then they adjust higher. BLT has had 6% increases for a couple of years now.

Buying where you love to stay and buying resale if possible is as important as looking to buy a resort with low dues.

Bill

 

[Disn3yVision]

Thanks Bill, thats good to know. suebeelin, no I actually didn't look into that at all. i think I will do that now lol

 

[Disn3yVision]

Like I said, yes pretty much everything is new with the DVC Poly buildings except the structural steel and roof, and even the roof tiles get gradually replaced every so often. All of the Poly buildings, even the hotel ones, have all had pretty much everything replaced over the years, including the exterior wood, and they just finished replacing the bottom of the exterior beams that hold up the balconies on all the buildings. There's really no need to worry about any of these buildings still having wiring or plumbing from 1971, lol, it's all long been replaced. The DVC interior walls, wiring, plumbing, and furnishings are newer than the VGF building.

That is very, VERY good too know. I have read a few threads that have really bashed the refurbishment, talk of Disney cutting a lot of corners, using cheap materials, etc. I can't wait til November so I can check it out myself. At least its good to know that they replaced almost everything in the DVC buildings. It was definitely a concern of mine regarding future maintenance costs.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

They didn't do a good job with the plumbing, for sure.

 

[Disn3yVision]

Yes, there definitely seems to be no argument about that.. I know everybody keeps saying it but hopefully they will address the issue... Eventually. Or sooner than later, lol. I mean, they can't let it go on like that forever with the showers clogging every week right??? Or can they :/

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Yes, there definitely seems to be no argument about that.. I know everybody keeps saying it but hopefully they will address the issue... Eventually. Or sooner than later, lol. I mean, they can't let it go on like that forever with the showers clogging every week right??? Or can they :/

They can let it slide a while. Plumbing is expensive. Expensive equals raising maintenance fees. They'll avoid that at a slow-selling resort until they're near sold-through.

 

[freediverdude]

It was an issue with that particular type of shower drain, which is new to a Disney resort and isn't used anywhere else at Disney yet. You'll see when you stay there. It's a very cool looking drain, but the contractor apparently was not familiar with how to install it properly or something. I think they are looking at ways to solve it. It's not super bad, just drains slowly in some rooms.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

just drains slowly in some rooms.

Occasionally, "slowly" is "not at all."

 

[DenLo]

I think the Poly could have some expenses because of the bungalows, I noticed during our December stay that they were being heavily cleaned on the outside, with particular attention to the front porches with all those nooks and crannies. I expect the spider webs really build up on them. And the birds leave a mess as well. One day the bungalows were covered with birds while we were there just like a scene from the movie, 'The Birds'. Also the boardwalk will extra maintenance and replacement boards.

 

[disneynutz]

They had an issue with bird droppings at BLT, I don't know if and how they took care of that.

Bill

 

[freediverdude]

My perfect Polynesian would never have bird droppings, that's not magical. The birds are considerate and wait until they are over an open trash can to make their deposits. The pressure washers are just there for show, just in case something happens, but nothing has ever actually dirtied the buildings so far.

 

[Dean]

It's likely they'll rise faster than the DVC average. Seems to be the norm for new DVC resorts nowadays.

 

[lpereira]

I'd be more worried about the dues at Hilton Head following a mild hurricane. The last one was 56 years ago. The thing that protects Hilton Head also makes a hurricane hits worse when it hits. Gracie was a monster. Hilton Head is mostly sand and the government replaced the sand then let people build expensive structures on it.