Poly vs Riviera - Help me spend my money

[Onceuponamarathon]

Husband and I are looking to buy our first DVC contract. Early 30s, no kids (and no plans for any), 6 hour drive from Disney. Will probably resell eventually as we won’t be passing it down, but who knows. Maybe we keep it forever.

Our preference is to buy direct in order to secure a fixed week contract. We are big runDisney fans and want to do a FW contract that lines up with the wine and dine race first week of Nov. This will likely be our main trip every year, even if we aren’t running. The option to stay at any future resorts and the blue card are a bonus of buying direct but the draw here is the FW.

Option 1: Poly.
Lake view room is 168 points which isn’t really a premium anymore. The point chart for the FW contract purchase is based on when the resort opened. They have since reshuffled the points and it’s now 167 to stay there regularly anyway. So will get to use a FW without having to pay the point premium. Love the idea of watching fireworks from the balcony. Two showers is a big plus for race weekends. My parents are retired military and stay at shades, making bigger family trips easier should we switch up dates or they come along. The race starts from TTC so could walk to the start and would take the monorail from both the finish and the runner’s after party. The big con is that it’s 42k + closing costs. This assumes current rewards and rounding up to 175 points. Also, we won’t *always* be doing the wine and dine race.

Option 2: Riviera
I hate that the resale value is so uncertain. The fact that it is locked down to a resale buyer seems like a huge factor. My first thought was that buying river is was crazy town. That being said, the skyliner is realllllly nice. We are generally Epcot and festival people, so the location is great for us. Also, the races end at Epcot (and the after party is at Epcot) so the skyliner would still be a great option during race weekend. The preferred room would be around the same 168 point purchase (155ish normally - so would have a point usage premium unlike poly). Would round to 175 for purchasing. Cost is considerably less at 32k + disney covers closing with current incentives. Also, we would care less about a preferred room at Riviera so would consider doing FW standard, lowering the cost even more. Or we could buy more points on a separate contract and keep the same overall cost.

Option 3: we’re crazy for buying direct at all and need to give up the idea of FW.

Also of note, We are in no rush to buy. We could buy now (with the incentives) or we could wait. We have a trip in Jan booked but won’t be back until wine and dine of 2021.

Thoughts?

 

[DL1WDW2]

I would be tempted to go with the Poly Fixed Week since your parents have the Shades of Green nearby.
But the fixed week for Riviera is equally tempting.
Tough decision. Poly is slightly shorter contract length... maybe easier to sell in future if you decide.
I admit I would love to trade my points atVWL for fixed week at Riviera....
Sorry not much help from me!
Good luck!

 

[MJ NH]

Since you want a blue card and fix week, I recommend Riv. I have not heard Poly is that hard to get into, if you want to switch at 7 months. Riv is cheaper. Riv has more years so if you want to sell in 30 years, it will have more value. If blue card and fix week are really not that important, I think Poly resale is your best choice. But I read that staying at Riv is important to you. If that is true Poly resale Is not an option, BTW Riv studios have separate bath and shower too, I believe.

 

[striker1064]

I wouldn't buy PVB direct, it's way too expensive compared to resale. Also note you cannot buy runDisney specifc weeks anywhere but CCV. It sounds like you want a traditional FW so that shouldn't be an issue, but just making sure you weren't looking for the runDisney week. You will have to buy CCV if you want Wine and Dine weekend specifically every year.

I'm not certain it's really all that necessary to buy a FW for RIV preferred, but I haven't tracked room availability so I can't say that for sure.

Personally, as someone who has traveled during numerous race weekends, two bathrooms is a bigger draw than anything else, so we favor PVB studios or Kidani 1brs even though it's just the two of us. I'd probably lean toward PVB resale in your case. We have a Wine and Dine week a a CCV studio and kinda miss the extra bathroom on race days.

 

[Ruttangel]

The payback for PVB direct is very long and RIV has resale restrictions amongst other issues.

In your circumstances Option 3 is by far the best idea.

 

[Henwen88]

Also keep an eye out for the resale market - I've seen several Guaranteed Weeks pop up (and the guarantee is deeded, so it transfers to the buyer). Some companies will advertise which week, others just have the oddly specific number of points (in your case 168).

If I was doing direct today, I would purchase at the RIV since last I heard DVC was including GW in the rebate programs. We bought week 50 when CCV opened and are very happy with the purchase (and have not used the guarantee yet, lol). I wish the race week option would have been available then, because the added flexibility for arrival and departure days sounds great.

Edit to add: I'm not knocking the Poly - it's a lovely resort, and sounds perfect for your situation. The direct price is simply unreal at this point - 235 or 245, right???

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

Also keep an eye out for the resale market - I've seen several Guaranteed Weeks pop up (and the guarantee is deeded, so it transfers to the buyer). Some companies will advertise which week, others just have the oddly specific number of points (in your case 168).

If I was doing direct today, I would purchase at the RIV since last I heard DVC was including GW in the rebate programs. We bought week 50 when CCV opened and are very happy with the purchase (and have not used the guarantee yet, lol). I wish the race week option would have been available then, because the added flexibility for arrival and departure days sounds great.

Edit to add: I'm not knocking the Poly - it's a lovely resort, and sounds perfect for your situation. The direct price is simply unreal at this point - 235 or 245, right???

Direct with Poly is very high. 245 per point. Incentive would be 5 dollars off to bring it to 240. Riviera with incentives is 187 + closing costs covered.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

The payback for PVB direct is very long and RIV has resale restrictions amongst other issues.

In your circumstances Option 3 is by far the best idea.

It’s why I put it on there as an option

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

I wouldn't buy PVB direct, it's way too expensive compared to resale. Also note you cannot buy runDisney specifc weeks anywhere but CCV. It sounds like you want a traditional FW so that shouldn't be an issue, but just making sure you weren't looking for the runDisney week. You will have to buy CCV if you want Wine and Dine weekend specifically every year.

I'm not certain it's really all that necessary to buy a FW for RIV preferred, but I haven't tracked room availability so I can't say that for sure.

Personally, as someone who has traveled during numerous race weekends, two bathrooms is a bigger draw than anything else, so we favor PVB studios or Kidani 1brs even though it's just the two of us. I'd probably lean toward PVB resale in your case. We have a Wine and Dine week a a CCV studio and kinda miss the extra bathroom on race days.

We would have the traditional fixed week at both Poly and Riv I think. The DVC guide did say Sun-Sun and that we could modify it Wed-Wed “at 11 months” for the race. Which I’m assuming isn’t the same as the actual race special event FW. It’s on my list to clarify but my assumption was traditional FW. Also, is seems RIV has two showers as well? I missed that when I made my original post. The floor plans seem to have a shower and then a tub (which looks like a shower/tub combo) on the studio. So that’s a plus!

 

[Spinster Travel]

I too am a Run Disney junkie and just bought Poly resale, but not a fixed week. I tend to run certain races in one year and then different ones in others. I chose resale for the Poly purely based on the fact that the price per point direct is insane IMO. I paid $140/pp which was about half of what I would paid direct given the incentives they were offering this summer. I too have no kids and zero plans of having them, so my "wants" were different than those with families. If you opt for the Poly, I don't think you'll have any problem booking the Wine & Dine week at the 11 month mark BUT things can change over the years so if a FW is what you want, you might want to just get it. One other thing to consider (coming from girl in her mid 40's so just a bit older than you) is that your preference for that week could change in 10 years. There are many people with FW's who LOVE them, but I travel a lot and one of the big draws for DVC was the flexibility. I was traveling in Feb for several years for the Princess Half and would have sworn 5 years ago that I'd run that race forever....the weather is awesome that time of year....but then this year, my sorority sisters and I changed it up and were going to do Food & Wine (which of course was cancelled), but now we're all set on that race/weekend for the next couple of years. Good luck! Honestly if you get what YOU want, you cannot lose

 

[Lorana]

Obviously no one has a crystal ball to the future, but I think we’ve already seen that resale prices for RIV do not seem largely affected by the resale restrictions. There are people who will buy it and won’t care about the restrictions. And if you’re holding it for close to 20 years, BWV and BCV will be nearing the end of their expiration and I expect to see more demand for it.
just with Poly, I expect point charts to change over time. Honestly I’m kicking myself about not buying a RIV FW because I suspect any studio will be hard to get during Fall Frenzy in a few years.

It doesn’t seem like Poly booking patterns will change so much that getting a week in a Studio over W&D RunDisney will be an issue. Given that and the high cost, I’d favor Riviera. And as you said that view doesn’t matter, go with a Standard view. It’ll save you points and money and hassle, as booking a standard studio over F&W is likely to be tough even at 11 months.
All this said, if you love Poly and the difference in cost is something you can handle, then go Poly. You listed a lot of reasons why the expense would be worth it. I know we’re hyper-focused on cost on these boards, but those intangibles matter! And they are likely the things that will matter long after you’ve forgotten how much you’ve paid to buy in. (And Poly dues are much less!). Don’t discount all the other pros unless cost really is the only thing that matters.

We bought 2 FWs initially at CCV and then picked up a 3rd over the W&D RunDisney event (our guide was *fantastic* and when my husband decided he wanted it, was able to get it wrapped under the summer incentives because our prior purchase hadn’t closed), and part of this was because we wanted to guarantee in the future we could travel on those dates without having the 11month anxiety, while retaining the flexibility to travel on other dates by canceling the week. For us, CCV may not be the most convenient location for RunDisney events but it is home! And now I never have to worry, when we do want to travel during F&W or Thanksgiving-into-Christmas Holidays “will I get the week??” And that is the thing that will matter to me more 10 years from now than the price I paid. (Admittedly though I did wait 20 years to buy into DVC so thatI could comfortably afford it, and if I have a regret, it’s waiting so long!)

 

[Sandisw]

Here now and my DD and I took the a Skyliner last night to walk around RIV. She has not seen it yet, and it convinced us that we 110% made the right decisions buying there,

I know there are resale restrictions, but getting RIV will be harder than Poly. I think it’s a great value and would choose that.

If you go Poly direct, you are automatically losing $100 in value off the start as we know is going in the $130 to $140s.

With RIV, you are starting already saving $50/point over Poly direct so i think if you ever sold, its going to be close to a wash.

 

[masupo]

I bought a FW standard view studio at RIV and it's definitely a traditional week. I have week 44, which coincides with the Wine & Dine half - I asked my guide if they could make it a RunDisney week, but they wouldn't go for it.

I have heard that they might not make the FW reservation for you at exactly 11 months. It could be a short time later. I'm hoping that's the case, because I could make the reservation myself for the same dates (if available) and not pay the point premium. If the FW reservation is already made, and you want to adjust the dates, you'd need to opt out via phone, then modify depending on availability.

The RIV studios do have a split bathroom with two showers like Poly. That and the murphy bed instead of a pull out couch are what sold me on RIV. I can't wait to stay there!

I agree with other posters that it'll be easier for me to book Poly studios at 7 months than it would be at RIV. I'm looking forward to staying there at some point.

 

[striker1064]

We would have the traditional fixed week at both Poly and Riv I think. The DVC guide did say Sun-Sun and that we could modify it Wed-Wed “at 11 months” for the race.

This is not true. This is not how traditional fixed weeks work, they are Sunday through Sunday only.

This IS how the runDisney fixed week works though. My understanding is you can only get this at CCV. It's possible they are offering it at RIV now. That would be new, but it's not impossible. It certainly never existed at PVB.

If you are buying a fixed week and want the floating dates for the race, ask your guide point- blank if this is a special event fixed week. If they say no, but insist you will be able to float your dates, they are flat-out lying to you and you should not proceed unless you are fine with Sunday to Sunday every year.

 

[Lorana]

This is not true. This is not how traditional fixed weeks work, they are Sunday through Sunday only.

This IS how the runDisney fixed week works though. My understanding is you can only get this at CCV. It's possible they are offering it at RIV now. That would be new, but it's not impossible. It certainly never existed at PVB.

If you are buying a fixed week and want the floating dates for the race, ask your guide point- blank if this is a special event fixed week. If they say no, but insist you will be able to float your dates, they are flat-out lying to you and you should not proceed unless you are fine with Sunday to Sunday every year.

I’m going to guess that because the guide said “you can change it to Wed-Wed at 11 months” that he was referring to the fact that at 11 months you could cancel the FE and rebook it from Wed-Wed.

Requesting a different check-in and check-out day in advance of 11 months and having it guaranteed requires a RunDisney FW, which you can only get at CCV.

 

[EM Lawrence]

Poly resale. Easy.

 

[striker1064]

I’m going to guess that because the guide said “you can change it to Wed-Wed at 11 months” that he was referring to the fact that at 11 months you could cancel the FE and rebook it from Wed-Wed.

Requesting a different check-in and check-out day in advance of 11 months and having it guaranteed requires a RunDisney FW, which you can only get at CCV.

That is certainly a very creative way of getting a FW uncharted out of a prospective buyer - by selling them the extra points and advising them to never use it.

OP, if you go this route, be aware you cannot modify your FW yourself. Only MS can do it. If you're concerned that your room choice will go right at 8 AM, you're already behind the curve because MS doesn't open until 9.

 

[TinkB278]

That is certainly a very creative way of getting a FW uncharted out of a prospective buyer - by selling them the extra points and advising them to never use it.

OP, if you go this route, be aware you cannot modify your FW yourself. Only MS can do it. If you're concerned that your room choice will go right at 8 AM, you're already behind the curve because MS doesn't open until 9.

Can’t you cancel the FW ahead of the 11 month mark if needed if it hasn’t already been booked? And if it hasn’t been booked yet at the 11 month window for whenever you are wanting to book then there wouldn’t seem to be an issue?

 

[havoc315]

So Poly would run about $10k or about 30% more than the Riviera for you.

Just a few thoughts:

-- Take resale value concerns of the Riviera out of the equation. To a large degree, that concern is already baked into the pricing. 15-20 years from now, will the resale value of the Riviera be less than the Poly? Probably yes. But the resale value of the Poly probably won't be 30% more than the resale of the Riviera. By then, the resale restrictions will likely be affecting many resorts. So I wouldn't let concerns about resale value be a reason to to affect the decision.
-- To me, a big downside of the Poly is that they only have studios and the way-overpriced bungalows. No normal 1-2 bedroom units. But if you know you're only going to want studios for just you and your spouse, then this isn't a negative for you.
-- So to me, it really comes down to which location and resort do you prefer. Being on the skyliner can be a better location for RunDisney events. But there is a magic to watching fireworks from the Poly beach. So rather be in the Epcot/DHS area or the MK area? And which resort do you prefer, Riviera or Poly?
If you have a clear preference for the Poly, I wouldn't let the price difference stop you. You don't want to have regrets 5 years from now, wishing you had splurged on the resort you really wanted. If it's really close in your mind, then the price can be a good tie breaker.

 

[striker1064]

Can’t you cancel the FW ahead of the 11 month mark if needed if it hasn’t already been booked? And if it hasn’t been booked yet at the 11 month window for whenever you are wanting to book then there wouldn’t seem to be an issue?

Not sure about ahead of 11 months but that does seem likely. And yes, if it hasn't been booked yet at 11 months, you can book it yourself. But then it goes back to my previous question, if you're either canceling or booking yourself every year, why pay the extra for the FW?