PVB Tower Charts, Sales Date and more!!!

[Mai Ku Tiki]

However...

okay. thx... Lagoon will be Preferred!

 

[DanCali]

I mean… with those theme park view villas… they have the best view of any DVC villa…

I don't know if the view can compete with BLT but the angle is better (the BLT fireworks view look like the fireworks are over space mountain because they are from so far back behind the castle).

According to Google maps, the distance from BLT to the castle is 0.5 miles (2650 feet) as the crow flies. It's 0.95 miles from the castle to the Poly tower (5000 feet). That's a huge difference when it comes to seeing stuff. Just think about how different a view and level of detail of a NFL or NBA game looks from the 100 level vs the 400 level, which may be twice the distance away, and the premium people pay for the closer tickets. It terms of how much you can see and absorb, I suspect BLT and BPK TP views would be much better than the Poly tower. BPK looks to be almost as close as BLT in the map below (~0.65 miles away).

Also - it takes sound about 5 seconds to travel 1 mile. So if what you see and hear and BLT when watching the fireworks seems out of sync, it'll be a lot worse at Poly.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Yes, fitting a double stroller in a longhouse elevator is brutal! I guess they didn’t have double wide jogging strollers in the 70s?

Those elevators are rickety as heck
I have too much experience with strollers there…..

 

[Ruttangel]

Yea, I'm thinking BLT TP view might be pretty nice too, I don't think I'll ever pay for that view, but I would imagine being even closer to the park could be just as good if not better... although looking over parking instead of a lake might change things.

I’m not too keen on the view from BLT or TOTW, I also prefer Narcoossees deck view to California Grill
…at least from Poly beach your dead line of sight to the castle so fireworks look as they do from main st

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Great news on the room sizes! Hard to believe, but, we’ll see!

 

[NJGirlDad]

I’m a current resale owner with a longing to own Direct. Removing all of the noise about the Island Tower and looking purely through the lens of best entry point for a 150 point Direct contract, is the current Poly offering the best we’ll see for awhile?

Among other things I’m factoring in cost per point, no resale restrictions, and a resort that will hold its value over time.

 

[Tatebeck]

I’m a current resale owner with a longing to own Direct. Removing all of the noise about the Island Tower and looking purely through the lens of best entry point for a 150 point Direct contract, is the current Poly offering the best we’ll see for awhile?

Among other things I’m factoring in cost per point, no resale restrictions, and a resort that will hold its value over time.

What do you own resale?

Poly is the only WDW resort that will be actively selling without resale restrictions, and maybe the last one ever. Is it a good deal? I don't think so unless they have some crazy incentives eventually. The crazy high point chart just kills it if it's your only home resort. But if no resale restrictions is an absolute requirement for you, it may be your only option. If you are serious about buying direct and holding it I don't think a single direct resort with resale restrictions matters that much, especially if you have other resale points you can sell off first if you get the desire to downsize. That's why I was ok buying my RIV direct, I had a bunch of other resale points already and I wanted long term Crescent Lake access.

So it may be the only option unless, you want to take advantage of some of the "flash sales" of sold out resorts when they offer decent deals on direct AKV, SSR, OKW, etc. But then most of those don't hold their value like Poly would, but they are quite a bit cheaper as well. For a premium location maybe be BLT would be the best one out of the ones they have had flash sales on recently but it wasn't a great deal compared to resale if I remember correctly. But then again Poly resale was around 140 before December when they said the tower would be the same association. I expect it to get back to that level eventually, especially with high point charts and even more points out there. What does holding value mean to you? 140 within a few years, 120ish like BLT or RIV resale is now? Or something else?

 

[hockeydad21]

I’m a current resale owner with a longing to own Direct. Removing all of the noise about the Island Tower and looking purely through the lens of best entry point for a 150 point Direct contract, is the current Poly offering the best we’ll see for awhile?

Among other things I’m factoring in cost per point, no resale restrictions, and a resort that will hold its value over time.

It’s hard to beat the current incentives at Saratoga Springs and Bay Lake Tower.

 

[MyDogTink]

What are the current BLT incentives? I thought they were lacking compared to resale?

 

[NJGirlDad]

What do you own resale?

Poly is the only WDW resort that will be actively selling without resale restrictions, and maybe the last one ever. Is it a good deal? I don't think so unless they have some crazy incentives eventually. The crazy high point chart just kills it if it's your only home resort. But if no resale restrictions is an absolute requirement for you, it may be your only option. If you are serious about buying direct and holding it I don't think a single direct resort with resale restrictions matters that much, especially if you have other resale points you can sell off first if you get the desire to downsize. That's why I was ok buying my RIV direct, I had a bunch of other resale points already and I wanted long term Crescent Lake access.

So it may be the only option unless, you want to take advantage of some of the "flash sales" of sold out resorts when they offer decent deals on direct AKV, SSR, OKW, etc. But then most of those don't hold their value like Poly would, but they are quite a bit cheaper as well. For a premium location maybe be BLT would be the best one out of the ones they have had flash sales on recently but it wasn't a great deal compared to resale if I remember correctly. But then again Poly resale was around 140 before December when they said the tower would be the same association. I expect it to get back to that level eventually, especially with high point charts and even more points out there. What does holding value mean to you? 140 within a few years, 120ish like BLT or RIV resale is now? Or something else?

Currently a Beach Club resale owner, so looking to get in the Magic Kingdom neighborhood.

The point chart doesn’t bother me much because I wouldn’t be buying with the sole purpose of staying at the Island Tower.

 

[tx911]

Currently a Beach Club resale owner, so looking to get in the Magic Kingdom neighborhood.

The point chart doesn’t bother me much because I wouldn’t be buying with the sole purpose of staying at the Island Tower.

If you are looking to get into a monorail resort, the Poly seems to be the only direct option for the foreseeable future, without paying exorbitant prices. Reflections will probably come eventually, but won't be on the monorail circuit.

 

[Tatebeck]

Currently a Beach Club resale owner, so looking to get in the Magic Kingdom neighborhood.

The point chart doesn’t bother me much because I wouldn’t be buying with the sole purpose of staying at the Island Tower.

Ah, okay.

The BLT special offer is still over $200 per point before magical beginnings no matter how many points you get, so assuming any halfway decent incentives, out of the two Poly would be the better price per point if you HAVE to go direct and want a MK Monorail resort. Then the high point chart hurts it, but it hurts less the more you use the points elsewhere.

But value wise I would probably recommend BLT resale now (much cheaper per point, lower point charts, much closer walking access) or Poly resale (if you love the Poly) in a couple years instead of direct. Is there something in the direct benefits that makes you strongly want the direct points? Like having a large family and wanting access to the sorcerer's pass for everyone? Or you just want to future proof for any possible future resorts? Or do you just love the Polynesian?

 

[NJGirlDad]

Ah, okay.

The BLT special offer is still over $200 per point before magical beginnings no matter how many points you get, so assuming any halfway decent incentives, out of the two Poly would be the better price per point if you HAVE to go direct and want a MK Monorail resort. Then the high point chart hurts it, but it hurts less the more you use the points elsewhere.

But value wise I would probably recommend BLT resale now (much cheaper per point, lower point charts, much closer walking access) or Poly resale (if you love the Poly) in a couple years instead of direct. Is there something in the direct benefits that makes you strongly want the direct points? Like having a large family and wanting access to the sorcerer's pass for everyone? Or you just want to future proof for any possible future resorts? Or do you just love the Polynesian?

Future proofing is probably #1. We’d like to stay at Riviera, Reflections (one day?) and anything else that comes down the line.

And if we want to do that one day, we assume that Direct prices will only increase each year, so why wait?

 

[atthebeachclub]

Ah, okay.

The BLT special offer is still over $200 per point before magical beginnings no matter how many points you get, so assuming any halfway decent incentives, out of the two Poly would be the better price per point if you HAVE to go direct and want a MK Monorail resort. Then the high point chart hurts it, but it hurts less the more you use the points elsewhere.

But value wise I would probably recommend BLT resale now (much cheaper per point, lower point charts, much closer walking access) or Poly resale (if you love the Poly) in a couple years instead of direct. Is there something in the direct benefits that makes you strongly want the direct points? Like having a large family and wanting access to the sorcerer's pass for everyone? Or you just want to future proof for any possible future resorts? Or do you just love the Polynesian?

My sole reason to want direct is the Sorcerer’s pass as an option. Every time I do the math though, it doesn’t pencil out for a family of four (at least not within a timeframe I am comfortable with, especially as benefits so often change). I otherwise wouldn’t mind 50 unrestricted points to use at Disneyland for short trips, but the likelihood of getting a 1 BR there at 7 months is pretty low, so….

 

[Tatebeck]

Future proofing is probably #1. We’d like to stay at Riviera, Reflections (one day?) and anything else that comes down the line.

And if we want to do that one day, we assume that Direct prices will only increase each year, so why wait?

Yeah that was one of the reasons why I wanted some direct points as well. That and locking in whatever direct benefits they offer now and in the future.

If you have the cash and you want Poly, go for it! It seemed a bit hectic for us the last time we stayed there and idk how much worse it will be after the tower opens with monorail and other crowding. I really value walking proximity to parks myself

Also remember that you can always rent your points out for a year and use that or just use cash for a stay at a future resort as well. The difference between direct Poly and resale BLT can be around 10K for 150 points. That's another stay or two right there. And BLT has lower dues, and has a lower point chart when you use your home point booking advantage. You can actually get a theme park view for around the same or sometimes CHEAPER than a standard view at the Poly depending on the room type lol. And you can use that savings to help book a cash stay here and there in the future.

If you are going to want to stay at new resorts frequently or stay at every new resort, direct is probably good future proofing, but if you will just pick and choose at a few of them between now and the contract expiration, resale may still be the better deal.

 

[supercarrie]

What are the current BLT incentives? I thought they were lacking compared to resale?

Here they are - off a base price of $275, they are ROUGH compared to resale pricing of $120-130 a point. You may even be able to get more like $115 a point if you negotiate well and find a willing seller.
https://dvcexplorer.com/fin/m/BayLakeTower_Member_DeveloperCredit.pdf

If I needed to buy direct right now, and absolutely ruled out Riviera, I'd go with 150 points at Poly. I won't rehash the other arguments as @Tatebeck summed up a bunch of other counterpoints quite nicely.

 

[tidefan]

What I can't wrap my head around is that the TPV 2-bedrooms are more expensive that a SV 3-bedroom GV at SSR. I mean, I'm sure the view and convenience are great, but after having stayed at a GV at SSR this past Summer, I'll take the GV...

I know, I know... Fireworks, however, the drone show from my SSR GV wasn't too bad...

 

[Chili327]

Future proofing is probably #1. We’d like to stay at Riviera, Reflections (one day?) and anything else that comes down the line.

And if we want to do that one day, we assume that Direct prices will only increase each year, so why wait?

Wait for reflections? If part of CFW, I bet the dues drop significantly… actually or don’t rise for quite a while. lol

I otherwise wouldn’t mind 50 unrestricted points to use at DisneyIand for short trips, but the likelihood of getting a 1 BR there at 7 months is pretty low, so….

Why not just add-on 50 at VDH?

What I can't wrap my head around is that the TPV 2-bedrooms are more expensive that a SV 3-bedroom GV at SSR. I mean, I'm sure the view and convenience are great, but after having stayed at a GV at SSR this past Summer, I'll take the GV...

I know, I know... Fireworks, however, the drone show from my SSR GV wasn't too bad...

Funny thing, I always hear about fireworks views, but I have yet to be back in my hotel during fireworks yet.

 

[Salokin]

What I can't wrap my head around is that the TPV 2-bedrooms are more expensive that a SV 3-bedroom GV at SSR. I mean, I'm sure the view and convenience are great, but after having stayed at a GV at SSR this past Summer, I'll take the GV...

I know, I know... Fireworks, however, the drone show from my SSR GV wasn't too bad...

Total opposite opinion here and i own at ssr! Again just demonstrates the flexibility of dvc and all our different priorities but with two young kids (and even without) I’d much rather have easy access to the parks, theme park view or not. We’re normally out the parks by about 11am as well after rope dropping (jet lag flying across the pond works in our favour!) as they’ve had enough by then and may pop back in later but if not we enjoy the resorts that we’ve paid a lot of money for.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Wait for reflections? If part of CFW, I bet the dues drop significantly… actually or don’t rise for quite a while. lol


Why not just add-on 50 at VDH?


Funny thing, I always hear about fireworks views, but I have yet to be back in my hotel during fireworks yet.

I might eventually add on those 50 VDH points but I still worry about availability at 11 months if we want 1 bedrooms. Especially the fact that it is a restricted resort makes me hesitant as the availability could worsen over time. Also, with the unincentivized pricing and the point charts, I might just be better off not buying it at all and using alternative hotels off property for infrequent trips.