Poly/DVC question...

[Hei_Hei]

Hello, all! My wife and I are thinking about purchasing a Poly contract direct through Disney for the perks. This will be our first contract. Very excited, but also questioning it a little as well. We have 2 young daughters and our trips to WDW will not be slowing down anytime soon. We know about the resale market and will most likely go through resale for a larger contract in the future. A couple of questions for the veteran DVC folks...

1 - Any issues owning at Poly? Are the rooms hard to book even at 10-11 months out??
2 - Is there anyone that wished they had not bought into DVC and just rented points for their vacations??
3 - Are the DVC events (moonlight magic) at the parks hard to schedule? I read somewhere that these DVC only events could be a hassle to book.

Thanks for any input, it will be much appreciated!!

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

At 11 months, Poly is pretty easy to book, although you night need to book right at 11 months to get early December. See SkierPete’s availability thread for details on availability.

The main issue with Poly is that there are only studios (and very expensive bungalows). So if you outgrow studios, you will be left booking 1BR or 2BR at 7 months somewhere else. On the other hand, the Studios at Poly are really nice, and there are over 300 of them. Contrast this with VGF, where there are 1BR and 2BR, but only 47 potential studios.

Moonlight Magic events are fun. They are difficult to schedule around, because many times I will book a vacation at 11 months. The MM events might not be announced until 6 months out, so I am not going to change my reservation to get them. However, on 2 occasions, I have been lucky enough to attend. There might be 2 dates per month, and the park for the 2 dates will also vary by month. You also have to book them quickly, as they sell out. But after some early train wrecks, the current booking process works pretty well. Availability varies by park. An event at Magic Kingdom will probably have more capacity than an event at Hollywood Studios for example.

 

[Rush]

Hello, all! My wife and I are thinking about purchasing a Poly contract direct through Disney for the perks. This will be our first contract. Very excited, but also questioning it a little as well. We have 2 young daughters and our trips to WDW will not be slowing down anytime soon. We know about the resale market and will most likely go through resale for a larger contract in the future. A couple of questions for the veteran DVC folks...

1 - Any issues owning at Poly? Are the rooms hard to book even at 10-11 months out??
2 - Is there anyone that wished they had not bought into DVC and just rented points for their vacations??
3 - Are the DVC events (moonlight magic) at the parks hard to schedule? I read somewhere that these DVC only events could be a hassle to book.

Thanks for any input, it will be much appreciated!!

1. As the poster before me mentioned, Poly is realistically only studios unless you have a massive amount of points for the bungalows. But not only are the studios nice, they are big. At 460 sq ft. they are the biggest DVC studios, with 2 showers. We are like you, 2 young daughters, we wanted a monorail home resort and the Poly was the only one that interested us. We already own 250 SSR points (175 resale and 75 direct for the benefits) and we are waiting on Disney’s decision for a 100 point Poly resale. We were a little concerned with just studios, but due to the size we are good with that, everyone is different though on space needs. At the time of year we plan to use those points, that will get us 9 nights every other year lake view, or 2 of every 3 years standard view.

2. No regrets here. Only possible thing I would change is taking into consideration in our initial purchases how quickly we would want/need more points. I might have done it slightly different had I known, but it’s a minor issue for us, hindsight is 20/20. I’d recommend, unless you have a will of steel, go into any purchase fully expecting what you plan your next purchases to be. Based on your post though, sounds you already get that and are planning ahead.

3. Having a room reservation gets you a much better chance at MM. Without a reservation it’s extremely competitive to get into MM. There are other events that can get you a similar experience, albeit at a price. Disney After Hours, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, the Christmas events, etc. So I wouldn’t go direct just for those MM. The only arguably valid financial reason for direct is access to Gold annual passes, the main reason we wanted direct benefits. But as many are quick to tell you, any of these benefits can go away at any time, even Disney tells you not to buy based on benefits.

I will say, Poly direct is insane at $235pp. We are waiting on our contract at $145pp. So far, fingers crossed, Poly contracts have had very good luck passing ROFR for a while. Just due to the cost difference between direct and resale on the Poly, you might look at a resale contract for it, and then a minimum direct and larger resale for your other points at a more affordable resort with much closer resale/direct difference. It would be several smaller contracts, but those do hold their value better than larger contracts. Just a thought.

Btw, here is a link to the availability thread the previous poster mentioned.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-studios-1-bedrooms-june-2018-update.3689931/
Good luck!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hello, all! My wife and I are thinking about purchasing a Poly contract direct through Disney for the perks. This will be our first contract. Very excited, but also questioning it a little as well. We have 2 young daughters and our trips to WDW will not be slowing down anytime soon. We know about the resale market and will most likely go through resale for a larger contract in the future. A couple of questions for the veteran DVC folks...

1 - Any issues owning at Poly? Are the rooms hard to book even at 10-11 months out??
2 - Is there anyone that wished they had not bought into DVC and just rented points for their vacations??
3 - Are the DVC events (moonlight magic) at the parks hard to schedule? I read somewhere that these DVC only events could be a hassle to book.

Thanks for any input, it will be much appreciated!!

Poly is good at 11 months. There are a couple of times during the year it has started needing you to book right at 11 months (first week of December is one - as it is for pretty much any studio onsite). It has so many studios though that its easy for owners.

Are there any other onsite resorts that you also love to stay at that might be cheaper direct? PVB is sooooo high! It easily will be $80/pt lower resale. You might consider the smaller contract at a different location you also like and PVB resale.

 

[zavandor]

It is true that Poly has only studios, but they are (almost all) connecting. Getting two connecting studios is only a request, but AFAIK no one had been denied it yet.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It is true that Poly has only studios, but they are (almost all) connecting. Getting two connecting studios is only a request, but AFAIK no one had been denied it yet.

There were a couple of reports awhile ago of people who were not given connecting rooms that they had requested.

 

[zavandor]

There were a couple of reports awhile ago of people who were not given connecting rooms that they had requested.

Oh, I've missed those, I would have been very annoyed. Probably not something I would want to risk with small kids, then.

 

[DVC Fanatic]

The price difference at the Poly, between resale and direct, is a large difference as others have noted. We bought resale at the Poly for our large contract and VGF for our direct small contract. It is important to us to have 5 person studios and be on the monorail with our little kids. We love both resorts and do not regret our decision.

If you are dead set on the Poly and want to own both direct and resale then you should go for it. The one concern I have for the Poly is if they try to update the point charts to make the Bungalows more affordable, they will have to increase the points on the studios.

We have not attempted to book studios connecting yet, but wish Disney would allow that option while booking.

We only have one MM experience from this past months first event at Epcot. It was a nice event with some unique character meets, but it was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be. I am not sure if they are letting in more reservations this year, or if Epcot is a sub par location for MM. We will attempt to book AK MM in August as it happens to overlap with a planned trip.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I am not sure if they are letting in more reservations this year, or if Epcot is a sub par location for MM.

Kinda both. The number of headline attractions at Epcot is small. Crowd they let in is large.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You might as well just book Pop Century or All Stars if all you want are studios. Not that much difference, except at Pop and All Stars at least you get two real beds.

 

[Rush]

You might as well just book Pop Century or All Stars if all you want are studios. Not that much difference, except at Pop and All Stars at least you get two real beds.

Come on now, that’s a bit draconian. That’s the equivalent of saying “if all you want is food, your might as well eat McDonalds.” There is much more to the quality of a resort than just what’s behind the room door.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Come on now, that’s a bit draconian. That’s the equivalent of saying “if all you want is food, your might as well eat McDonalds.” There is much more to the quality of a resort than just what’s behind the room door.

Okay, you get a slide and a table service restaurant. But worse counter service.

 

[Katie L]

Okay, you get a slide and a table service restaurant. But worse counter service.

All Star food court really IS pretty awesome. But I won't stay there again lol

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Oh, I've missed those, I would have been very annoyed. Probably not something I would want to risk with small kids, then.

In the years since PVB has been open there's been so few reports that I think it's as close to a guaranteed request as can be but yes, it's one thing to not get it with adult family traveling together vs when you have young kids with. That could change an entire trip.

 

[princessbride6205]

We just bought PVB resale - as a family of 3 we don't think we'll size out of studios and we love it. We've been fortunate enough to book at 7 months or get in on waitlist for April trips the past few years. We've never bought direct but luckily our other contracts have grandfathered us in. I'd consider buying PVB resale first, then adding on direct at OKW or SSR to get the benefits. Disney will have an easier time matching your use year than you will if you add on resale later.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We are a family of two...soon to be three and we bought into the Poly when it was first offered. We don't like to cook on vacations so to us, the size of the studios at Poly are perfect and the location to MK and the TTC can't be beat. In the years that we have owned, we have not found it to be hard to book a room especially at 11 months. I admit that we tend to travel during high DVC point season so that may help us secure a room more easily.

 

[holden]

I was all set to buy PVB when it was first announced until I learned they would only have studios and the bungalows. As our kids have gotten older, we have needed more space. A 1BR is the absolute minimum for us now, and that is only at BLT and Kidani because of the extra bathroom. Mostly we stay in 2BR units. We own at BLT. We purchased BLT resale because of the extra bathroom in the 1BR and 2BR units and the walk to MK.

I never would have predicted that 2BR would become our usual room for vacation, but that is what happened. As much as I love Poly (and I grew up staying there starting in the 70s), I'm glad we didn't buy there.

 

[kniquy]

1 - Any issues owning at Poly? Are the rooms hard to book even at 10-11 months out??

Poly is fairly easy to book - at 7 months between mid Jan and mid september you can get rooms there. It is the high demand, low points season which is difficult at ALL dvc resorts.

2 - Is there anyone that wished they had not bought into DVC and just rented points for their vacations??

There is an element of control when you own and can fully manage a reservation. I beleive most rental companies you pay for it and if you have to cancel the trip you dont' get a refund (as far as I know). If you own and have to cancel (depending on UY, points status etc) you can cancel or change your reservation (provided that there is something available). If for some reason you can go at all then current year points can be banked (time permitting) or there is RCI which you can also put your points into.

3 - Are the DVC events (moonlight magic) at the parks hard to schedule? I read somewhere that these DVC only events could be a hassle to book.

The events are so in frequent that it shouldn't be a buying direct motivator. They are fun events but they are fairly busy.

Poly contract direct through Disney for the perks.

Poly direct is INSANE. I personally do not think it is worth the difference in price compared to resale. I am in the process of buying 100 PVB points for $14500. If I had gone direct "for perks" then i would have spent. $23500. So a huge difference of $9000. For that savings you could put that money aside and use it to buy After hours events - frequently offered. Whereas the moonlight magic is sporadic and might not line up with your vacation. If you want discounts comparable to what DVC offers - then one person in your party gets an AP -- you will get pretty much the same 10% dining and 20% shopping discounts.

For a first contract i would lean towards buying resale. Get used to the system. With a family of 4 -- will you have other kids? the Poly studios do get a bit tight with 4-5 people. They are spacious but at some point down the road you may want more space.

This might be where you would consider just buying a small poly contract resale and then adding on at another resort which does offer 1 and 2BR units. I think SSR or OKW have more reasonable direct pricing -$155- so this would save you $80 per point - so if you were to buy 100 OKW points you would save - $8000 compared to poly direct -you would save money and get the perks. You could utilize the contracts to go every other year with either banking points or borrowing.

There are various ways of using DVC to your benefit, but buying all poly point direct just doesn't make sense. The high cost is just not worth it for the "perks"

 

[EYL]

Poly direct is INSANE.

We've been wondering about the value of buying 75 points of Poly direct that will cost about $6000 more that resale... We have a 200 point resale contract pre-Jan 19th and is good for a week in a Lake View when we typically travel. We were thinking of adding on for a cushion for more days and in anticipation of a point increase. We are a family of 3 and will most likely purchase the Gold AP's every 3 years. Direct now has an extra benefit of being able to use those points towards future resorts - for Poly, ~46 more years of future resorts. What do people think about that value?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The events are so in frequent that it shouldn't be a buying direct motivator. They are fun events but they are fairly busy.

I am going to emphasize this again. It is really important to understand that the Moonlight Magic events are not an economic reason to buy direct. They happen on specific dates. Many are not announced even as far as 7 months out. With kids, alignment to when you can travel is unpredictable. With kids, the hours may also be prohibitive. In the cases where, wow, it all works out... tickets are limited. If you get a ticket, you may find that it's nice to be in a theme park without a paid ticket, but the lines may surprise you. In parks like DHS and Epcot, there are too limited an array of headliner attractions compared to the crowd they let in to make much of anything walk-on save the usual walk-on suspects.

At a $60pp differential direct and resale,it only takes about 8 points of savings to buy one set of tickets to After Hours. So that's, like, 12 events on 100 points.