Island Tower at Polynesian Villas & Bungalows

[OlieRow]

Stupid question, but if construction is behind...at what point do you (disney) make the call to pivot? I have a cash room booked for Marathon weekend, which is always a sold out DVC weekend and traditionally pretty booked throughout the resort. I'd be royally peeved (the nicest thing I could say, tbh) if they cancelled my room at the Poly and threw me wherever they could find a spot or worse...cancelled entirely. Especially since I'm running Dopey and don't want to have to worry about finding a place to pass out.

Can you book something on cash that you can cancel?

 

[Da Bird is Da Word]

I’m budgeting for $200 per point after incentives at the 150 point level. Anything below that will be a bonus. If it’s significantly higher to start I’ll just wait. There’s a few million points to sell so it’s gonna take a while.

Just curious, do we think Poly contracts will still be on the market in about 2 years? Or are they going to sell much quicker than that

 

[nlenguyen]

I am quite unsure what will happen with the direct points. VGF sold fast because they had quite a bit of incentives when first selling and at the end to push it to sold out. VDH was going to sell fast and is quite slow. Poly may be the same way if they do not have incentives and push people to get Riveria

 

[DonkeyHoTay]

My $0.02 - the Tower is not behind schedule for a December open. The building has been dried in for some time now and they can go as fast as they want (or can afford) after that point.

 

[maui22]

My $0.02 - the Tower is not behind schedule for a December open. The building has been dried in for some time now and they can go as fast as they want (or can afford) after that point.

I agree. IIRC…June 20, the lagoon side rooms only had 10-20 that were lit at night. These were only on the GF third. We could see these were rooms being worked on.

Last week someone posted images on one of the Tikiman FB groups. In those images nearly, it was easy to see rooms on all three thirds (GF, lobby, and pool) were being worked on. The person had really good images from a nearby longhouse to the most recent rooms that were worked on (lagoon/pool view). Could see cabinets installed with lighting above the cabinets. These rooms were pretty far along for 3.5 months before opening.

Whether they have worked on the front (monorail) or non-lagoon view rooms would require someone to ride the monorail at night and determine if those rooms are lit.

 

[Kailunkat]

I agree - they are already putting up millwork/cabinetry and interior finishes. The rooms look to be on track. I know that for resort refreshes/renos they typically do a section at a time. However, I would be very surprised if they sectioned off the tower to finish - it's a lot more cost effective to have ALL of the finish plumbing installed at once, all of the tilework being completed, all of the electrical and so on. Knowing the mouse, I'm sure their contractors have a very defined schedule with monetary penalties for overdue work. When something falls behind (hello EPCOT dirt pit and Tron) it's usually a C-suite level decision NOT because the carpenter didn't show up on time.

Now, are the restaurant, pool, fitness center, green space/gardens and lobby going to be finished? I would bet on those being behind before I bet rooms would be. One-off spaces are much more likely to have an issue than the cookie cutter guest rooms.

 

[supercarrie]

Just curious, do we think Poly contracts will still be on the market in about 2 years? Or are they going to sell much quicker than that

I predict minimal incentives and it will sell steadily but not sold out in two years. Cabins are sitting there (potential trust project with Reflections?!) and Riviera is well on the way to sold out. (I think I saw a 28 months to sold out estimate as of a month ago?) They will need something to sell 2-3 years from now at WDW and Reflections (or whatever comes next) won’t be done by then.

Other more educated DVCers may have a different opinion though!

 

[eticketplease]

As I recall the initial vacation weeks declared into the association were very concentrated, right? Lower floors of the south wing and something in the north wing? Since no point bookings have been opened yet they can definitely focus on finishing those wings after they finish the central part of the building where their cash bookings could be accommodated?

@tjkraz they can put you in any room in the resort correct? They just limit the amount of rooms available to be booked with points based on the declarations made I believe.

 

[vdangelo239]

I predict minimal incentives and it will sell steadily but not sold out in two years. Cabins are sitting there (potential trust project with Reflections?!) and Riviera is well on the way to sold out. (I think I saw a 28 months to sold out estimate as of a month ago?) They will need something to sell 2-3 years from now at WDW and Reflections (or whatever comes next) won’t be done by then.

Other more educated DVCers may have a different opinion though!

I agree. I anticipate they continue to push Riv to sold out status and keep price of this high - since they will have no issue selling cash rooms in the meantime - then once Riv sells out they have this to push until whatever is next.

 

[eticketplease]

then once Riv sells out they have this to push until whatever is next.

Or whatever is left like AUL and CFW

 

[Sandisw]

@tjkraz they can put you in any room in the resort correct? They just limit the amount of rooms available to be booked with points based on the declarations made I believe.

This is correct! There is no difference in what rooms can be used for DVC or cash guests.

You can be placed in any room that is ready for occupancy.

 

[tjkraz]

@tjkraz they can put you in any room in the resort correct? They just limit the amount of rooms available to be booked with points based on the declarations made I believe.

Correct. For example, even if they technically declare a 2nd floor Duo Studio into the condo association, an arriving guest staying on points can be assigned to any Duo Studio in the building.

 

[Mikey15]

Correct. For example, even if they technically declare a 2nd floor Duo Studio into the condo association, an arriving guest staying on points can be assigned to any Duo Studio in the building.

Good to know. I guess regardless of location, what they’ve declared but not yet allowed for stay on points should at least represent reduced cash booking capacity?

 

[mamaofsix]

How far behind schedule is the Poly? This was Grand Floridian 4 months before opening, and they got that one done in time.

View attachment 891191

This biggest difference, to me, is that the grounds surrounding the building of Polyv2 are still very far from complete. It's not just the building itself but all the amenities, roads and pathways surrounding the building that seem behind.

 

[kilik64]

I agree. I anticipate they continue to push Riv to sold out status and keep price of this high - since they will have no issue selling cash rooms in the meantime - then once Riv sells out they have this to push until whatever is next.

Naw, PIT is going to sell out before Riv, its sells will nosedive once PIT is on sale. They then push it to sell out post PIT leaving cfw as the only WDW resort in active sales until Reflections 2.0 is rolled out.

It’ll be fun to have had 2 unrestricted additions sell out before the first brand new resort with them sells out lol

 

[New Mouse]

Naw, PIT is going to sell out before Riv, its sells will nosedive once PIT is on sale. They then push it to sell out post PIT leaving cfw as the only WDW resort in active sales until Reflections 2.0 is rolled out.

It’ll be fun to have had 2 unrestricted additions sell out before the first brand new resort with them sells out lol

This is accurate. The lack of resale restrictions will cause Riv to dry up unless the price point is vastly higher.

 

[maui22]

This biggest difference, to me, is that the grounds surrounding the building of Polyv2 are still very far from complete. It's not just the building itself but all the amenities, roads and pathways surrounding the building that seem behind.

They have been pouring walking paths from longhouse areas to Island Tower since
June.

They are redesigning much of the roadways for Poly. A separate bus loop and more will be going in. I can’t recall the end date for that paperwork, but think it is through 2025. Maybe even into 2026?

 

[zavandor]

This is accurate. The lack of resale restrictions will cause Riv to dry up unless the price point is vastly higher.

For as long as RIV was a few bucks cheaper, it outsold VGF and viceversa. I don't like the resale restrictions and would love to see them reverted, but there's evidence that price is a much bigger driver of sales. VGF sold out before RIV because DVC, for some reason, preferred so.

 

[mamaofsix]

They have been pouring walking paths from longhouse areas to Island Tower since
June.

They are redesigning much of the roadways for Poly. A separate bus loop and more will be going in. I can’t recall the end date for that paperwork, but think it is through 2025. Maybe even into 2026?

Yes, I know they've been working on it. It just appears to be behind for a December opening. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised and it will all be wrapped up by December.

But the notion that they were holding off on selling points until the resort was closer to completion rings true for me.

 

[DanCali]

For as long as RIV was a few bucks cheaper, it outsold VGF and viceversa. I don't like the resale restrictions and would love to see them reverted, but there's evidence that price is a much bigger driver of sales. VGF sold out before RIV because DVC, for some reason, preferred so.

I think for those who care/know about the resale option it's also about the direct vs resale price. If Riviera resale is $40-$50 cheaper per point than PVB, it's highly possible that even if PIT might be priced $20 higher than Riviera direct it will still seem more attractive to those buyers, and that even before accounting for the difference in resale restrictions .