Poly blue card… Where to add next?

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

DVC is throwing so many curve balls, I don’t know where to add on. We’re blue card Poly owners but are looking for another home resort. What would you do?

 

[DVChris]

If you're a DL fan, I vote DLT!

 

[Marionnette]

DVC is throwing so many curve balls, I don’t know where to add on. We’re blue card Poly owners but are looking for another home resort. What would you do?

I guess that all depends on where you might want to stay most of the time. I like the idea of having a monorail resort and an Epcot-area resort. But there are some sweet incentives to purchase BLT right now and OKW has a very favorable point chart. An extended contract there might not be a bad idea.

 

[Zach197]

Saratoga Springs for value alone. Add renovation distance to Disney Springs and length of contract I think its a winner. We are also owners at Poly Saratoga and Animal Kingdom. Love all 3 but we wouldn't buy a different resort on the monorail.

 

[Jwaire]

I'd look at an Epcot resort, Boardwalk or Riviera where the 11 month booking window matters. Beach Club is just too expensive. I own Poly and Riviera and I'm pretty happy. If I added on, it would be Copper Creek solely because I feel that resort is an experience in itself (kind of like AKL) and you need the 11 month window for studios.

If I lived closer and could go for a long weekend, resortcation, etc. I'd purchase Saratoga Springs for value and cheaper dues.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Are you looking direct or resale? IF direct, I would probably do RIV for the epcot resort since you already have a monorail. If resale, I would purchase SSR or OKW for the best value. Maybe CCV resale for contract length and priority for christmas and new years

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

I think with the new BLT incentives it is coming down to a dual between direct BLT vs direct Riviera;

RIVIERA:
Access to Epcot & HS
Beautiful big rooms
Great studio w split shower
Option for 1 and 2 bedrooms
Nice pools
Long contract
… but, resale restrictions, isolated when Skyliner is down, and high point charts

BLT:
Walk to MK, monorail to Epcot
Option for 1 and 2 bdrms with extra bathroom
Long enough contract
Good point charts
No resale restrictions
… but, pools so-so, small studio, already have monorail resort

 

[Ruttangel]

If it's a longer term investment with similar years to PVB then I would just get something like CCV resale.
But, If nothing is making your heart sing then I wouldn't add on just yet.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I’d do Beach Club or Saratoga. The first because that’s where my heart wants to be (I already own Boardwalk) and the second from an economics perspective.

 

[Anthony Vito]

I think with the new BLT incentives it is coming down to a dual between direct BLT vs direct Riviera;

RIVIERA:
Access to Epcot & HS
Beautiful big rooms
Great studio w split shower
Option for 1 and 2 bedrooms
Nice pools
Long contract
… but, resale restrictions, isolated when Skyliner is down, and high point charts

BLT:
Walk to MK, monorail to Epcot
Option for 1 and 2 bdrms with extra bathroom
Long enough contract
Good point charts
No resale restrictions
… but, pools so-so, small studio, already have monorail resort

We purchased Copper Creek in early 2019, direct. We added on in late 2020 at Riviera (we were planning on adding on at some point there but did it sooner than planned because of the crazy incentives at the time - got 200 points for $160/point).

Similar to your pros on Riviera, we really liked the rooms (stayed there in early 2020), and liked the resort generally (I'm not a fan of the decorations/"theming" - feels forced and less transportive than somewhere like Copper Creek). We love the Skyliner. Your point about when it's down being problematic is a good one, but when it's up, we think it's the best transportation on property. A big factor though having something closer to Epcot/HS with already having something close to MK.

One other factor I'd consider for Riviera over BLT - availability. The points chart does suck, but the Standard View chart is not that bad - it's just hard to get Standard View rooms, especially Studios and 2-BRs, even outside of 7 months. We also like the Tower Studios for weekend trips without the kids (stayed there on cash this summer, just booked a weekend this coming October on points). Those are also impossible to get inside 7 months. From what I've seen, it's not very hard to get a Lake View room at BLT, which I think are pretty similarly priced to Standard at Riviera. So while I think the comparisons between the resorts have good points on each side (disclosure: personal preference is Riviera, but we've only stayed 1 night at BLT and the short walk to MK is amazing, I prefer nearly everything else about RIV), and all else being equal, I'd say the booking availability differences between the two put Riviera further ahead. Unless Standard View or Theme Park View is really important at BLT, you're more likely to have much more selection inside of 7 months to book BLT with Riviera points than vice versa.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

We purchased Copper Creek in early 2019, direct. We added on in late 2020 at Riviera (we were planning on adding on at some point there but did it sooner than planned because of the crazy incentives at the time - got 200 points for $160/point).

Similar to your pros on Riviera, we really liked the rooms (stayed there in early 2020), and liked the resort generally (I'm not a fan of the decorations/"theming" - feels forced and less transportive than somewhere like Copper Creek). We love the Skyliner. Your point about when it's down being problematic is a good one, but when it's up, we think it's the best transportation on property. A big factor though having something closer to Epcot/HS with already having something close to MK.

One other factor I'd consider for Riviera over BLT - availability. The points chart does suck, but the Standard View chart is not that bad - it's just hard to get Standard View rooms, especially Studios and 2-BRs, even outside of 7 months. We also like the Tower Studios for weekend trips without the kids (stayed there on cash this summer, just booked a weekend this coming October on points). Those are also impossible to get inside 7 months. From what I've seen, it's not very hard to get a Lake View room at BLT, which I think are pretty similarly priced to Standard at Riviera. So while I think the comparisons between the resorts have good points on each side (disclosure: personal preference is Riviera, but we've only stayed 1 night at BLT and the short walk to MK is amazing, I prefer nearly everything else about RIV), and all else being equal, I'd say the booking availability differences between the two put Riviera further ahead. Unless Standard View or Theme Park View is really important at BLT, you're more likely to have much more selection inside of 7 months to book BLT with Riviera points than vice versa.

Thank you for the well thought out response. And, Wow! $160 per point... You've got to feel good about that!

 

[Anthony Vito]

Thank you for the well thought out response. And, Wow! $160 per point... You've got to feel good about that!

We feel better and better about it all the time - it was a $35/point discount - absolutely crazy. There was a big jump, if I remember right, at 200 points, so that convinced us to get 200 - probably wouldn't have considered adding on that many. Our first contract was 118 points (guaranteed week - that's why the oddly specific number), so we added quite a bit more.

We considered buying for over 2 years before we bought our first contract. We decided in a couple hours, while on a trip at WDW, to add the second contract. We knew we were going to sooner rather than later, but we just thought the incentive was too good to pass up. We also have a weird situation where we actually have to sign our paperwork AT Disney World. We live in Delaware, and since we're financing our purchases, they're not registered to lend in DE and can't mail us any of the paperwork to sign here. They had to hold our first contract for 4-5 months for a trip we had booked down there to sign while there. So we knew if we wanted to add on before too long and wanted to take advantage of the discount, we had to do it right then.

 

[sjdrr1313]

I think with the new BLT incentives it is coming down to a dual between direct BLT vs direct Riviera;

RIVIERA:
Access to Epcot & HS
Beautiful big rooms
Great studio w split shower
Option for 1 and 2 bedrooms
Nice pools
Long contract
… but, resale restrictions, isolated when Skyliner is down, and high point charts

BLT:
Walk to MK, monorail to Epcot
Option for 1 and 2 bdrms with extra bathroom
Long enough contract
Good point charts
No resale restrictions
… but, pools so-so, small studio, already have monorail resort

What are the BLT incentives? We have 200 points resale at SSR currently...

 

[DVChris]

What are the BLT incentives? We have 200 points resale at SSR currently...

You can read the BLT thread:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-blt-direct-incentives.3869930/

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I think with the new BLT incentives it is coming down to a dual between direct BLT vs direct Riviera;

RIVIERA:
Access to Epcot & HS
Beautiful big rooms
Great studio w split shower
Option for 1 and 2 bedrooms
Nice pools
Long contract
… but, resale restrictions, isolated when Skyliner is down, and high point charts

BLT:
Walk to MK, monorail to Epcot
Option for 1 and 2 bdrms with extra bathroom
Long enough contract
Good point charts
No resale restrictions
… but, pools so-so, small studio, already have monorail resort

Unless you want the standard 1BRs at BLT, I would do RVA to have an EPCOT area resort since you already have Poly.