New to DVC - Should I buy Poly points since that is where I want to stay?

[sd63]

I've reviewed the historical charts on the 7-month availability at each DVC resort. Practically every DVC resort has very limited availability at 7-months out with the exception of Polynesian and SSR. Both of these have 5-6 consecutive days available at 7-months out over the last 5 years. I'd like to stay at Polynesian so ideally I should buy this as a home resort. But it would be much cheaper to buy either OKW or SSR points and book at Poly at the 7-month period. It seems odd that Poly has this availability at 7-months out given this is a deluxe resort. Am I missing something?

 

[intamin]

I've reviewed the historical charts on the 7-month availability at each DVC resort. Practically every DVC resort has very limited availability at 7-months out with the exception of Polynesian and SSR. Both of these have 5-6 consecutive days available at 7-months out over the last 5 years. I'd like to stay at Polynesian so ideally I should buy this as a home resort. But it would be much cheaper to buy either OKW or SSR points and book at Poly at the 7-month period. It seems odd that Poly has this availability at 7-months out given this is a deluxe resort. Am I missing something?

You're correct that in general Poly can be booked at the 7 month mark. Between OKW/SSR I'd opt for SSR due to the lower dues. I would still consider purchasing Poly if you tend to travel maybe during more popular periods like early December, marathon weekends and etc. or if you think you wouldn't be content staying somewhere else on property. If you're pretty flexible about where you're going to stay, SSR can be a great option but personally I like the peace of mind and not having to worry about missing dates while booking trips so I'd just buy Poly if it were me. It's the reason I bought a relatively small AKV contract even though I know AKV can be had pretty regularly at 7 months, I like knowing I can book a Jambo studio whenever I'd like and have access to value/club level rooms.

 

[Sandisw]

PVB has the most studios of any of the DVC resorts. Plus, owners who want a 1 or 2 bedroom unit have to trade out because there are none that are part of the current resort.

This helps make PVB more readily available at the 7 month mark. I am a big fan of buy where you want to stay if you have a favorite place. While trends are great, things change and if you buy something else and begin to struggle with getting PVB, will you be disappointed? If the answer is yes, then buy PVB.

One thing to add...the new Poly tower being has not yet been declared as to whether it is going to be a new resort or whether it will be added to the current PVB.

If it is a new resort, and has resale restrictions, resale PVB points bought today (as well as all other resale points) will not be eligible to book those rooms. If it is added to the current PVB, then all PVB owners, regardless of how they bought their points will be able to book there and have the 11 month home resort advantage. Resale points at other resorts, if it is added to PVB, will then be good for the 7 month booking mark.

So, if you think staying at the Poly tower is something, and would be disappointed to find you are locked out as a resale buyer, you might want to wait until we know. If you buy PVB (or another resort) and are fine with just staying in the current rooms, then definitely can consider buying now.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

The reasons Poly has good 7 month availability are technical and boring, but you are correct that it does. But Poly 2 could seriously change the equation and make studios much harder to book there. I’d buy Poly if you want to mostly or exclusively stay there.


P.S. all DVC resorts are considered “Deluxe” resorts.

If anything Poly has more in common with OKW and SSR than any other WDW resorts do by being a large resort (in points) with several disconnected buildings and having to go outside for dining and shopping

 

[Stargazer65]

Poly has a longer contract life, so the higher price upfront is offset by the value over the long term. The value is practically a wash with SSR IMO. OTOH, while OKW 2042 contracts are cheaper upfront, the higher dues and the shorter contract life offset the savings, making it a worse value IMO.

• Poly - long contract life (2066), low dues
• SSR - medium contract life (2054), low dues
• OKW - short contract life (2042)*, higher dues

*OKW extended is 2057, but costs more than 2042 contracts typically

It seems to me if you are buying resale, and you want to stay at Poly, a Poly contract makes the best sense when you combine the value of the purchase with the home resort booking advantage. Even if you buy it for SAPs, you are still getting good value when you consider contract life and dues.

 

[RoseGold]

Poly Lake View is difficult to get and books out. It doesn't cost as many points as most view upgrades, and it's a significantly better room. No Pago Pago parking lot (er, monorail) view.

If you love Poly, but don't love the Pago Pago parking lot, it might be worth getting Poly points so you can get lake view.

But yes, the cost effective way to do this is SSR. And that's by a whole lot.

 

[Minniesgal]

The availability of Poly t 7 months will change dramatically with the new units. I wouldn't have bought there before as the Studio only offering is not interesting to me but if I were in the market for points i'd buy there now.

 

[RoseGold]

The availability of Poly t 7 months will change dramatically with the new units. I wouldn't have bought there before as the Studio only offering is not interesting to me but if I were in the market for points i'd buy there now.

Assuming it is a different association, I don't see how it matters much.

It's still very point heavy, which is why it is among the last booked up. VGF2 took even more pressure off it.