Home Resort HELP!

[AmandaIola]

I am driving myself crazy trying to make the best decision for my family’s home resort. Our favorite resort if the Poly, hands down. I grew up staying at the Poly, and just love it. However, we are a family of 6, and that makes the Poly difficult because they only have the studios and bungalows right now. Anyone have insight into this issue?

We have also toured Disney’s RR and love it there too, but the restrictions scare me.

This is just so difficult, and I keep second guessing myself.

Please send advice!

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

I am driving myself crazy trying to make the best decision for my family’s home resort. Our favorite resort if the Poly, hands down. I grew up staying at the Poly, and just love it. However, we are a family of 6, and that makes the Poly difficult because they only have the studios and bungalows right now. Anyone have insight into this issue?

We have also toured Disney’s RR and love it there too, but the restrictions scare me.

This is just so difficult, and I keep second guessing myself.

Please send advice!

Ok so you must know about the poly tower expansion yes? Which of course no one knows if it will be the same association or not. But of course many questions come to mind - do you plan to buy points before then? If you are buying a good chunk of points you could buy some at Riviera and and then some at Poly and bank and switch which resort you stay at every other year. Are you buying resale or direct?

 

[Best Aunt]

If buying direct, you can buy "sold out" resorts. Not sure if you knew that. You aren't limited to the new ones.

 

[stwaldman]

Are you a consistent traveler that will use the 11 month window? Or are you going to regularly book inside 7 months? That may mitigate how much home resort matters.

Editing to also ask: do you need points ASAP? or is it realistic to wait until more is known about the new poly building and rent/cash stay two more years?

 

[Sandisw]

The new Poly tower will add more room sizes. However we do not yet know if it will be part of PVB or a new association.

If it added to the current, then resale or any PVB points will work there. If it is a new association, then it’s possible it too will have restrictions and be blocked from any resale points bought now,

The only way to ensure you can book that prior to any announcement from DVD will be to buy something direct.

Right now, that’s RIV or VGF. IMO, DVC is too expensive to not get the resort you want. If that is Poly, then I would wait until we know more about the Poly tower

If that comes with restrictions as well, then it will be the same as RIV and then will have to decide how badly those bother you.

We own RIV and those didn’t play a role in buying because we love it. We didn’t use resale value are part of our decision either.

So far, RIV is doing better than anyone thought so it is always possible it won’t be as bad down the road as some fear.

Good luck!

 

[AmandaIola]

Are you a consistent traveler that will use the 11 month window? Or are you going to regularly book inside 7 months? That may mitigate how much home resort matters.

Editing to also ask: do you need points ASAP? or is it realistic to wait until more is known about the new poly building and rent/cash stay two more years?

That could be a plan, to just be patient. It would be nice to utilize the points right away, though.

We could book trips in either manner. I am a teacher, so our breaks are pretty predictable but it would also be nice to book within the 7 month window during the summer for a fun getaway.

 

[AmandaIola]

Ok so you must know about the poly tower expansion yes? Which of course no one knows if it will be the same association or not. But of course many questions come to mind - do you plan to buy points before then? If you are buying a good chunk of points you could buy some at Riviera and and then some at Poly and bank and switch which resort you stay at every other year. Are you buying resale or direct?

I am leaning toward resale for the savings. We wouldn’t be a family interested in many of the perks of direct, especially since they aren’t guaranteed.

 

[AmandaIola]

The new Poly tower will add more room sizes. However we do not yet know if it will be part of PVB or a new association.

If it added to the current, then resale points will work there. If it is a new association, then it’s possible it too will have restrictions and be blocked from any resale points bought now,

The only way to ensure you can book that prior to any announcement from DVD will be to buy something direct.

Right now, that’s RIV or VGF. IMO, DVC is too expensive to not get the resort you want. If that is Poly, then I would wait until we know more about the Poly tower

If that comes with restrictions as well, then it will be the same as RIV and then will have to decide how badly those bother you.

We own RIV and those didn’t play a role in buying because we love it. We didn’t use resale value are part of our decision either.

So far, RIV is doing better than anyone thought so it is always possible it won’t be as bad down the road as some fear.

Good luck!

Thank You!

 

[Marionnette]

I am leaning toward resale for the savings. We wouldn’t be a family interested in many of the perks of direct, especially since they aren’t guaranteed.

The big drawback of going resale will be the restrictions going forward. You say that you love the Poly. How would you feel if the new Poly Tower is not part of the current PVB association and your restricted resale points cannot be used there?

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

The big drawback of going resale will be the restrictions going forward. You say that you love the Poly. How would you feel if the new Poly Tower is not part of the current PVB association and your restricted resale points cannot be used there?

And you mentioned liking Riviera so Poly resale wouldn't be able to be used at Riviera. They keep throwing in wrenches .

 

[RoseGold]

I think status quo Poly is a good pick, because of the adjacent doors. Unless you want to pay more for the 2BR. Or maybe you want a 3BR VGF?

We have no idea what your budget is or when you are traveling. But the cool thing about Poly is that it's hard to imagine a travel group that a few studios won't work for.

 

[sndral]

I think status quo Poly is a good pick, because of the adjacent doors. Unless you want to pay more for the 2BR. Or maybe you want a 3BR VGF?

We have no idea what your budget is or when you are traveling. But the cool thing about Poly is that it's hard to imagine a travel group that a few studios won't work for.

My understanding is that you can request connecting studios but they are not guaranteed at the Poly? W/ a family of 6 OP will need 2 studios.
There are travel groups who value having a living room space w/out a full time bed in it, kitchen, in villa laundry & the king size bed in the master bedroom & the 2 real beds in the second bedrooms in the dedicated 2 br.s over 2 studios. Presumably the new tower at the Poly will have those larger villas, how much they’ll cost pointwise is a big question - presumably less than the bungalows.
If OP likes the idea of 2 studios w/ a slight risk they won’t connect, then NBD, but if they prefer to have the option of the 2 br. set up, buying Poly resale right now not knowing whether they will be able to book the bigger villas when the tower opens in 2 years would be a huge concern.

 

[hglenn]

I'm also in the "buy where you want to stay" camp and Poly is tough to get at 7 months. I also think 2 studios would work and, generally, are less points than even a 1 BR. We are a fam of 4 but our kids often want to take friends so I like them having the own space. You sacrifice the kitchen, but, currently that's not offered at Poly anyway. One other thing to consider - when the new resorts are released, member incentives tend to be better than new member incentives so if you were already a member (resale or direct) you could leverage those member incentives to add direct points when Poly2 is announced, if you like what's offered.

 

[Sandisw]

I think status quo Poly is a good pick, because of the adjacent doors. Unless you want to pay more for the 2BR. Or maybe you want a 3BR VGF?

We have no idea what your budget is or when you are traveling. But the cool thing about Poly is that it's hard to imagine a travel group that a few studios won't work for.

No washer and dryer or full size refrigerator for a family of 6 would be a deal breaker for me as a regular choice.

 

[alohatok1986]

Poly is our favorite as well. However, we're a family of 5 and the rooms aren't ideal for us as-is. I wanted to wait for confirmation that poly2 is or is not it's own association before I buy (direct). I'm impatient and want to buy this year so we're trying to buy AKL resale. The immersion and theming of AKL is a close second to Poly for us, and the variety of rooms/availability can't be beat.

 

[CraigInPA]

The Poly Tower isn't expected to be done until 2024. Between then and now, you might consider a smallish (100 points or so) resale contract at Poly, preferably one with current year points that can be banked. Bank the current year points, and then use them and next year's points and some borrowed points for a trip next year in 2 studios.

In 2023, we will likely know whether it's a new association or not.

If it's a new association, you can buy a small contract in the Poly Tower (during the early sales period with the introductory member pricing) and sell your legacy Poly points. With the nature of DVC point values, and barring a recession, you should come close to breaking even. You can then buy more Poly Tower points to get where you want to be, points wise, during that early sales period.

If it's the same association (and I suspect it will be, since they didn't give it a different name in their announcement), you can keep your legacy resale, and add on either direct points or more Poly resale.

 

[Sandisw]

The Poly Tower isn't expected to be done until 2024. Between then and now, you might consider a smallish (100 points or so) resale contract at Poly, preferably one with current year points that can be banked. Bank the current year points, and then use them and next year's points and some borrowed points for a trip next year in 2 studios.

In 2023, we will likely know whether it's a new association or not.

If it's a new association, you can buy a small contract in the Poly Tower (during the early sales period with the introductory member pricing) and sell your legacy Poly points. With the nature of DVC point values, and barring a recession, you should come close to breaking even. You can then buy more Poly Tower points to get where you want to be, points wise, during that early sales period.

If it's the same association (and I suspect it will be, since they didn't give it a different name in their announcement), you can keep your legacy resale, and add on either direct points or more Poly resale.

The only thing I will add re: name is they just announced the official name of the Disneyland Tower. So, based on that, I am not sure a lack of the name means one way or the other since that project was announced years ago. Same with Bay Lake...name didn't come out until the project was well on its way.

 

[CraigInPA]

The only thing I will add re: name is they just announced the official name of the Disneyland Tower. So, based on that, I am not sure a lack of the name means one way or the other since that project was announced years ago. Same with Bay Lake...name didn't come out until the project was well on its way.

Copper Creek Villas was named when the project began as a conversion of WL rooms. Announced at the same time was the change of the original Villas at Wilderness Lodge name to Boulder Ridge, making it obvious that CCV was a new association. This is the closest analogous example.

The other recent example of an expansion at the same resort, the Big Pine Key conversion at the Grand Floridian, which is the same association, never had a different announced name. Before that, Tree Top Villas existed as a resort, and later college program housing. With so few of them, they couldn't be a standalone DVC resort. So, adding them to the immediately adjacent SSR was the obvious choice.

No one expected the Disneyland Tower to be part of Grand Californian Villas association, due to the geographical distance between the two resorts, as well as the number of years remaining in GCV. This naming situation is like Bay Lake Tower, which was originally called "Kingdom Tower at the Contemporary Resort", getting its new name during construction. It was always going to be its own association because, geographically, there was no nearby association to attach it to.

 

[sndral]

Copper Creek Villas was named when the project began as a conversion of WL rooms. Announced at the same time was the change of the original Villas at Wilderness Lodge name to Boulder Ridge, making it obvious that CCV was a new association. This is the closest analogous example.

The other recent example of an expansion at the same resort, the Big Pine Key conversion at the Grand Floridian, which is the same association, never had a different announced name. Before that, Tree Top Villas existed as a resort, and later college program housing. With so few of them, they couldn't be a standalone DVC resort. So, adding them to the immediately adjacent SSR was the obvious choice.

No one expected the Disneyland Tower to be part of Grand Californian Villas association, due to the geographical distance between the two resorts, as well as the number of years remaining in GCV. This naming situation is like Bay Lake Tower, which was originally called "Kingdom Tower at the Contemporary Resort", getting its new name during construction. It was always going to be its own association because, geographically, there was no nearby association to attach it to.

Actually Copper Creek wasn’t named until later. In Sept. 2015, DVC did announce it as the 14th DVC resort and the second location at the WL, so it was clear from the beginning that it would not be part of the then existing Wilderness Lodge Villas (subsequently renamed Boulder Ridge Villas) https://dvcnews.com/resorts/villas-...092-fast-reaction-to-new-wilderness-lodge-dvc.
Although rumors of the CCV name first surfaced in the Spring of 2016, DVC didn’t officially announce it until the fall of 2016 https://dvcnews.com/resorts/villas-...ss-lodge-dvc-confirmed-existing-units-renamed.
My speculation is that by keeping the Poly announcement so vague https://www.clickorlando.com/theme-...s-new-villas-at-polynesian-village-resort/#// DVC is keeping their options open on the issue of whether the Tower will/will not be an add on to the existing Poly DVC.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Complete tangent, I'm bummed it ended up being Villas at Disneyland Hotel (VDH). Disneyland Tower DVC or Tomorrowland Tower DVC were my hopes. Tee hee . Happy Sunday.
Back on topic, I love @hglenn 's idea of a small resale contract at Poly that will get you through the next year or so until OP knows more about the fate of Poly2 tower. As they said it will have the primed for existing member incentives for when it goes on sale. Might be able to find a loaded contract with banked points. Unless you're only planning to buy like 100-200 total points and then incentives won't really matter. The nice thing about DVC is you aren't locking yourself into a decision - you can always resell your contract if you change your mind.