The Poly2 Pricing Thread

[Mai Ku Tiki]

While I could be wrong, as a Poly1 DVC owner, I’m kind of hoping Poly2 is its own association. I love the theme of the original resort and the lake view from Moorea (I won’t stay standard). And while the resort can get busy, the DVC side of the Poly was relatively quiet when we were there last month. I bought DVC to experience the different resort themes and be inside the WDW bubble. If I wanted a hotel feel, I could have bought almost any other timeshare for a lot less, maybe even gotten paid to take one over (that’s when you know it’s a good one).

Aloha I'm a longhouse Poly fan for a loooong time. But others here have said that even if Poly 2 is new association, amenities like the 3 pools may still be shared. Poly 1 owners will have more tropical grounds, shopping, dining etc to enjoy. For me that may increase the size of my Poly bubble. As to the added population, I understand your concerns. But not too much reason for Poly 2 neighbors to visit our longhouses. It is all a nail-biter.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

If the Poly tower is its own association, the longhouses will be more than 100 years old by the time the Poly tower contracts expire. I have to wonder how long the longhouses will survive. Will Disney get rid of them/replace them at some point?

 

[GoingSince1990]

While I could be wrong, as a Poly1 DVC owner, I’m kind of hoping Poly2 is its own association. I love the theme of the original resort and the lake view from Moorea (I won’t stay standard). And while the resort can get busy, the DVC side of the Poly was relatively quiet when we were there last month. I bought DVC to experience the different resort themes and be inside the WDW bubble. If I wanted a hotel feel, I could have bought almost any other timeshare for a lot less, maybe even gotten paid to take one over (that’s when you know it’s a good one).

Zero chance that the new tower guests will not be allowed to use the main Poly pool. Imagine the DVC guides showing prospective buyers around saying "to get to the monorail, you just walk along here to the Great Ceremonial House, past this pool which by the way you won't be allowed to use..."

 

[J Spaziani]

I love the optimism I see in this thread, but yeah. No way is the part of the existing association. VGF2 was a simple cash grab. This is a way more involved project and will be its own association and the first resale restricted property in the bay lake/7 seas area. Disney has found a disgusting way to devalue what was a pretty great product. I don’t see them ever going back. I suspect one day it will bite them in the *** as the market gets more savy.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Zero chance that the new tower guests will not be allowed to use the main Poly pool. Imagine the DVC guides showing prospective buyers around saying "to get to the monorail, you just walk along here to the Great Ceremonial House, past this pool which by the way you won't be allowed to use..."

And I agree with you on that. I fully expect it to be a different association. But I can see there being uncomfortable conversations with prospective buyers when they show the bungalows and tell them they are only able to be booked at 7 months. But maybe by separating them, the relatively egregious points for the bungalows won’t really matter as much as I think.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

If the Poly tower is its own association, the longhouses will be more than 100 years old by the time the Poly tower contracts expire. I have to wonder how long the longhouses will survive. Will Disney get rid of them/replace them at some point?

Probably not. Not because Disney is cheap or not a for-profit company. We will be the reason. It’s our fault. We DVC owners will demand the longhouses stay due to nostalgia. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

[SL6827]

You have to understand that Imagineering was gutted under Chapek, in both of his roles (Parks Chair and CEO). Like completely gutted. It really started before COVID. Chapek's plan was to eliminate most of WDI and just outsource everything and build attractions that can be replaced easily (using screens and tech).

Why pay for a huge WDI workforce? They were already working closely with these architectural firms anyway, so why not just let them have it? Same with attractions. Most attractions are outsourced. The firework shows have been outsourced since HEA.

It was all part of a leaner and more efficient parks division. Disney pays a contractor a set amount for a project. The project is over. Disney no longer has to worry about extra employees, benefits, etc.

I'm with @PolyRob. I'm not sure if they had already signed the material contracts for Reflections and just changed their mind on the location, really wanted a Waikiki look or just didn't care. These towers are very efficient to build and people seem to love them.

Some of it is our fault for jumping for joy when something like Gran Destino gets built. They've just reached a new level with this because it is very jarring and towering (no pun intended) over a beloved original resort.

No-one cared about preserving the theming at Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs.

I totally agree about the look of the tower at CSR. You are right. I wonder if Poly 1 resale prices will take a hit if the place is a complete eyesore.

 

[Jwaire]

I totally agree about the look of the tower at CSR. You are right. I wonder if Poly 1 resale prices will take a hit if the place is a complete eyesore.

It may be somewhat depressed while the tower is on sale, but long-term I doubt it. The original DVC rooms have the better location, don't have resale restrictions and may even wind up with a better point chart.

For anyone that is interested in Disney architecture, there's a great book that was published in the mid 90's called 'Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture'.

Every Disney exec should be forced to read it.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

The *original* concept art for the Poly tower looks like it would perfectly blend in with the rooftops and theming of the longhouses. The new tower jumps out at me as completely out of place between the adorably themed GF and Poly. I think my brain refuses to remember the new concept art. It will add a third, wildly different, color scheme and architectural style to a relatively closely crowded area. I hope they reconsider but we’ll know soon enough.

We already own direct and resale at VGF (in addition to non-monorail resorts), and the only way we’d buy direct at Poly is if the resorts are combined — otherwise I’ll take the original longhouses and unrestricted points…but the real advantage of being in the tower is that you don’t have to look at it, instead you are enjoying views of the charming original resort.

 

[DL1WDW2]

That’s a great thought. Currently that concrete structure looks really out of place.
Is there anything similar at Aulani that they could copy for the look and final exterior design of the new Poly2 ?

 

[DanCali]

Disney has found a disgusting way to devalue what was a pretty great product. I don’t see them ever going back. I suspect one day it will bite them in the *** as the market gets more savy.

I agree they are not going back and it will never be the same product over the longer term. But it's not disgusting or personal, it's just business...

It won't necessarily "bite them" either. They will adapt their sales model just like other timeshare developers who employed these tactics did. It's not like there is no precedent or existing playbook. When they destroy resale value intentionally it becomes extremely profitable for them to buy stuff at ROFR and recycle those points as fully functional to uninformed buyers. Just look below at the types of margins Marriott gets on "Vacation Ownership Products". They haven't built a new resort is about 15 years - that's very costly and risky. They just sell what they buy at ROFR for a hefty multiple (4.6x in 2021, 5.6x in 2022), albeit they do spend a lot in marketing expenses to get people into those timeshare presentations. I'm sure executives at DVC must envy those margins... And Disney's "right to use" model gives them a bunch of "new" resorts to sell in 2042 anyway without using a single crane.

As for the informed buyers, they can always employ a "points washing" incentive to get them to consider buying once they get too much pushback. You don't want to buy direct because you lose 50%-75% so you'd rather buy at 2-3 restricted resale resorts you like? How about buy 300 points direct and they'll make 300 of your resale points (whether it's Riviera or SSR) fully functional so you can use them anywhere? Once you get that option and start looking at metrics like "average cost per point" that would get many informed buyers to at least give it serious consideration, even with the knowledge that the direct purchase's resale value stinks.

 

[BamaGuy44]

That’s a great thought. Currently that concrete structure looks really out of place.
Is there anything similar at Aulani that they could copy for the look and final exterior design of the new Poly2 ?

I'm sure they could if they wanted, but it's going to be very close to the artist rendering they put out. Most of the major decisions have to be made long before they get to this point. Sadly I don't know if we'll ever see elaborately themed exteriors like Wilderness Lodge, AKL ,and Aulani. Aulani does show it's possible to have impeccable theming in a tower design, so who knows, "ever" is a long time

I'm not blown away by the exterior design, but I don't hate it either. And I prefer the towers over the spread out resorts, so a tower at Poly is right up my alley. I certainly won't be bemoaning the fact they didn't copy the style of the longhouses they built 50+ years ago.

 

[Mikey15]

That’s a great thought. Currently that concrete structure looks really out of place.
Is there anything similar at Aulani that they could copy for the look and final exterior design of the new Poly2 ?

Well, I mean about 50 years ago the longhouses were just concrete boxes too.

One thing I notice in the styling discussion is the loud colours of the longhouses as seen from within the resort look somewhat different from what the “check-in” view used to as you pull up to GCH.

They redid this all a couple of years ago and the features they added on now have some of the bright red & all like the longhouses. The older version in this image was more muted in my opinion.

If the current vibe is louder and includes the loud red and 70s brown, I wouldn’t put it past them to include that in the finishing touches on the tower. They can still do a lot with that mountain of concrete.

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

Is Disney allowed to put Poly longhouses, bungalows, and tower all in the same association to then get rid of the DVC longhouses to make room for something like a skyliner station or another tower? (basically move existing owners to a new substitute structure other than what they originally bought)???

 

[CarolynFH]

Is Disney allowed to put Poly longhouses, bungalows, and tower all in the same association to then get rid of the DVC longhouses to make room for something like a skyliner station or another tower? (basically move existing owners to a new substitute structure other than what they originally bought)???

That would be the kind of substantial change that by timeshare law would require a vote of the owners. DVC couldn’t do it unilaterally. The ground is leased to DVC, but the Poly owners own the buildings.

 

[RichVIII]

Towers are here to stay. Density increases the total points available to sell with minimal land use and easier for everything from utilities to housekeeping to be in one place. Wait till BCV becomes the newest tower in 2045.

My concern is Trader Sams. Every year it gets early and earlier you need to line up get get in line to get called hours later.

 

[Roughians_satchel]

You can say what you want, but the artwork released for the tower is what it's going to look like.

They've been very consistent on hotel construction artwork since before Gran Destino. The rendering technology has gotten that good. It's not going to all of a sudden look like Aulani.

Aulani was a special project spearheaded by Joe Rohde. WDI had control over that project. Those people are gone. They were let go, quit to go work elsewhere or forced into early retirement (like Joe Rohde) during the pandemic.

Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) is the architecture firm that co-developed Aulani, Disneyland Paris Hotel and the Grand Floridian. They're designing this tower. It's not like they they're not capable of designing a themed hotel.

The difference with this project is that those Imagineers weren't around to spearhead this. It was handed off.

Do you happen to know if this firm also was hired for Reflections? The new tower renderings don't match the Poly style as much as the older one for the never built expansion of the Poly1. I think that rendering was done by Imagineering. Slightly concerning if Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo were allowed to run free willy without any input from Imagineering.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Towers are here to stay. Density increases the total points available to sell with minimal land use and easier for everything from utilities to housekeeping to be in one place. Wait till BCV becomes the newest tower in 2045.

My concern is Trader Sams. Every year it gets early and earlier you need to line up get get in line to get called hours later.

As a current BCV owner, I would welcome a BCV tower (as long as it gets its own amenities so it’s not adding too much stress to the common areas), if it’s done in the same style and color scheme as the rest of the resort (and not blocking the waterfront area). A duo studio (or 1 bedroom that can sleep 6 with a Murphy bed?) with views of the beach/boardwalk, fireworks, and maybe even a hint of the park? Disney take my money!

Unlike the monorail loop, the Crescent Lake area already has several large “towers” (are pyramids towers? ) — though I reserve the right to change my mind after seeing the artist rendering.

 

[Sandisw]

Is Disney allowed to put Poly longhouses, bungalows, and tower all in the same association to then get rid of the DVC longhouses to make room for something like a skyliner station or another tower? (basically move existing owners to a new substitute structure other than what they originally bought)???

No. They can’t demolish the current buildings.

 

[cdirazonian]

This building is huge, i didn’t realize until saw in person just how long it is. some photos from this week. from some angles looks like an extension of the VGF, taken from the resort boat. On opposite end looks really close to Polynesia’s existing building.

sorry. photos posted kinda dark.