Poly std studio at 7 mo?

[KSR0330]

How is Poly standard studio availability at 7 months in July? I would really love to plan on staying there each summer and will buy resale at Poly if needed. Just trying to see if it's needed. Thanks!

 

[DisneyGal24]

There are a lot of studios at Poly. We’ve always been able to book there at 7 months.

 

[KSR0330]

Thanks, Disney Gal! My dream is to go down (from NY) 2 times per year- one trip with the family (grown boys and wives) in Jan at AKL and a trip with just me and hubs in the summer. I would save a lot of money if I can buy extra AKL points to use at the Poly in the summer!

 

[drusba]

July 6 to 31 is a low DVC demand time and Poly studios, both standard and preferred have invariably been open at 7 months out during that time. July 1 through 5 is 4th of July time with higher demand, and though still often open, you might have some risk otherwise -- standards have sometimes disappeared for July 4 and 5 in the past at 7 months out from June 29 or 30, meaning those reserving July 4 time with a late June start date (for the reservation or walking) have the higher chance of getting it at 7 months out.

 

[sethschroeder]

Thanks, Disney Gal! My dream is to go down (from NY) 2 times per year- one trip with the family (grown boys and wives) in Jan at AKL and a trip with just me and hubs in the summer. I would save a lot of money if I can buy extra AKL points to use at the Poly in the summer!

You would save lots of money now. Those maintenance fees though will make up for that over time. If you are dead set on POLY then get POLY.

Is there a reason why you want AKL? Have you stayed there? I always ask because while its an amazing resort it is a long trek to the parks I found. For us the only way we would stay at AKV in the future is if we planned on ubering/lyfting to the park.

One other thing if you are going down 2x a year then you might want to buy the AKV direct. In addition you could add your Sons to the membership (if you trust them and they don't have financial hardships) and everyone could get annual passes. You would always get them and renew them while you could plan the family trips to be 11 months and 3 weeks apart allowing them to buy AP one year, skip it one year, buy AP, ect and thus save the cost of the tickets basically every other trip.

 

[KSR0330]

July 6 to 31 is a low DVC demand time and Poly studios, both standard and preferred have invariably been open at 7 months out during that time. July 1 through 5 is 4th of July time with higher demand, and though still often open, you might have some risk otherwise -- standards have sometimes disappeared for July 4 and 5 in the past at 7 months out from June 29 or 30, meaning those reserving July 4 time with a late June start date (for the reservation or walking) have the higher chance of getting it at 7 months out.

That's great to know, thanks!

Is there a reason why you want AKL? Have you stayed there? I always ask because while its an amazing resort it is a long trek to the parks I found. For us the only way we would stay at AKV in the future is if we planned on ubering/lyfting to the park.

Yes, transportation is the only down-side to the park. We use Uber a lot.

One other thing if you are going down 2x a year then you might want to buy the AKV direct. In addition you could add your Sons to the membership (if you trust them and they don't have financial hardships) and everyone could get annual passes. You would always get them and renew them while you could plan the family trips to be 11 months and 3 weeks apart allowing them to buy AP one year, skip it one year, buy AP, ect and thus save the cost of the tickets basically every other trip.

Yes, my plan is to get 100 pts direct and the rest resale and get the AP's at the reduced rate. I was going to put a son on each contract. If I do that, they can also get APs at the Gold pass rate?

 

[sethschroeder]

Yes, my plan is to get 100 pts direct and the rest resale and get the AP's at the reduced rate. I was going to put a son on each contract. If I do that, they can also get APs at the Gold pass rate?

They all need to be on the 100 points direct contract. No need to put them on the other contracts unless you are doing it for long term.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Is there a reason why you want AKL? Have you stayed there? I always ask because while its an amazing resort it is a long trek to the parks I found. For us the only way we would stay at AKV in the future is if we planned on ubering/lyfting to the park.

Sorry, but have to comment on this, because I hear it a lot. Your statement is true if you spend a lot of time at the MK. Then Poly is a no-brainer from a transportation standpoint. But if you do 1 different Disney park per day, the distance to get to those parks is almost exactly the same from AKL as it is from Poly. The trip from AKL to MK can seem long - I know. But it's the same distance as Poly to AK. But again, if MK is the park of choice most days, then AKL is definitely farther away. But it's really not as remote as some make it sound. Since our kids are older now, we spend way more time at AK, so the AKL location is great!

That being said, I completely agree with your point for the OP. Don't buy points at AKV because they're cheaper than Poly, with hopes of staying at Poly. If that's where you want to be, plan to buy some points at Poly so you can be sure of your summer plans. If something were to happen in the future - say maybe a worldwide pandemic that clogs up millions of DVC points for owners, and those owners start using them at times you'd like to go - you might not get your rooms at 7 months. Always better in the long run to buy where you like to stay, if you can. And these are 2 of our favorite resorts - both spectacular.

 

[sethschroeder]

Sorry, but have to comment on this, because I hear it a lot. Your statement is true if you spend a lot of time at the MK. Then Poly is a no-brainer from a transportation standpoint. But if you do 1 different Disney park per day, the distance to get to those parks is almost exactly the same from AKL as it is from Poly. The trip from AKL to MK can seem long - I know. But it's the same distance as Poly to AK. But again, if MK is the park of choice most days, then AKL is definitely farther away. But it's really not as remote as some make it sound. Since our kids are older now, we spend way more time at AK, so the AKL location is great!

That being said, I completely agree with your point for the OP. Don't buy points at AKV because they're cheaper than Poly, with hopes of staying at Poly. If that's where you want to be, plan to buy some points at Poly so you can be sure of your summer plans. If something were to happen in the future - say maybe a worldwide pandemic that clogs up millions of DVC points for owners, and those owners start using them at times you'd like to go - you might not get your rooms at 7 months. Always better in the long run to buy where you like to stay, if you can. And these are 2 of our favorite resorts - both spectacular.

Its not the drive and its been brought up I think yesterday as well. The issue is the wait for the bus to start with. If the bus was always there within 10-15 mins I would be fine (as others would be as well) but having multiple waits of 45mins to 1hr or more is what kills it.

The main issue with AKV is that you will find multiple bus waits of upwards an 1hr during a full week in the parks. Yes this is not true for everyone but this is also not a random occurrence because bus issues at AKV are something that get brought up by people.

As far as Poly to AK vs AKV to MK there is also a difference, MK is the most visited park 20m vs 13m visitors in 2018. HS probably overtakes AK this year and Epcot will overtake AK once again probably in another 2 years time. Meaning AK will once again be the least visited park by most.

AKV is an amazing resort and really I would have bought there if they 2x the amount of busses serving the resort.

 

[Deb & Bill]

They all need to be on the 100 points direct contract. No need to put them on the other contracts unless you are doing it for long term.

If all your contracts aren't titled the same, they will be different member numbers. So you must transfer to the other contracts from the one you have them on if you need more points for a reservation (and don't want to borrow or use banked points).

 

[KSR0330]

If all your contracts aren't titled the same, they will be different member numbers. So you must transfer to the other contracts from the one you have them on if you need more points for a reservation (and don't want to borrow or use banked points).

Oh, that's too bad. Thanks for letting me know!

 

[ahward]

Sorry to jump in but How difficult is Poly 7 months out around Christmas? Thinking around the week before.

 

[drusba]

Sorry to jump in but How difficult is Poly 7 months out around Christmas? Thinking around the week before.

December time at Poly (all month) is usually a problem at 7 months out except for a day or possibly two here and there. That is usually true for the entire DVC high to extremely high demand season at WDW which runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan. During the rest of the year chances are much better.

 

[ahward]

December time at Poly (all month) is usually a problem at 7 months out except for a day or possibly two here and there. That is usually true for the entire DVC high to extremely high demand season at WDW which runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan. During the rest of the year chances are much better.

Thanks so May and July should be ok?

 

[drusba]

Thanks so May and July should be ok?

Usually they are for Poly except some risk otherwise for days around July 4 and designated Moonlight Magic nights if they have been designated more than 7 months in advance Next year is somewhat unpredictable because the covid closures this year might lead to more reservations next year with the extra points being carried over to 2021.

 

[The Jackal]

Usually they are for Poly except some risk otherwise for days around July 4 and designated Moonlight Magic nights if they have been designated more than 7 months in advance Next year is somewhat unpredictable because the covid closures this year might lead to more reservations next year with the extra points being carried over to 2021.

Let’s not forget the 50th anniversary too of the MK.