The Poly2 Pricing Thread

[Matty B13]

If the Resort monorail skips the TTC, how do monorail resort guests get to Epcot? Disembark the monorail at Poly GCH and walk to TTC? Disembark the Resort monorail at MK and board the Express monorail to TTC? Bus from their resorts to Epcot?

I guess using MK as the transfer point works in the morning when all those offsite guests get off at MK and leave plenty of space for monorail resort guests, but do you really want to change monorails twice to get to Epcot?

I believe there were "Resort" only monorails and other regular ones that stopped at every stop, so you would be able to take one of those from any resort and stop at the TTC.

I know we don't even bother taking the monorail to get to the TTC from VGF or Poly anymore because it takes to long and the walk is way quicker.

This is why we almost always walk to MK in the morning from VGF though, the monorails and boats are way to packed, and we find it quicker to just walk.

 

[DVCsloth]

I do believe that Disney will need to address the monorail issue from Poly and GF. It may be something as simple as leaving a few cars open during busy times. But, the new tower is going to add a lot of people to the monorail. Even the return trip to Poly will have a lot more people on it. The monorail is way overdue for an upgrade, the track itself is over 50 years old and I think the trail cars are close to 30 years old.

 

[Genie+]

I do believe that Disney will need to address the monorail issue from Poly and GF. It may be something as simple as leaving a few cars open during busy times. But, the new tower is going to add a lot of people to the monorail. Even the return trip to Poly will have a lot more people on it. The monorail is way overdue for an upgrade, the track itself is over 50 years old and I think the trail cars are close to 30 years old.

Bicycles would be pretty cool. I’d love if Poly, VGF, BLT, BWV, and BCV had bicycles to drive to the nearby parks and we could pick up another to get back. Kind of the way cities have bike rentals. Even if it was only daylight hours and restricted to park paths only.

Doubt it will ever happen though. It is not ‘guest-proof’ enough. People would get themselves into predicaments and point the responsibility at WDW.

 

[Roughians_satchel]

Yes, WATG was contracted to design Reflections. Someone at Disney management approved the Poly2 Tower. It's not WATG's fault. They're just a contractor. They do what they're told.

RIV was a WDI project, but I'm sure they had a partner. It's probably WATG, but I'll keep looking.

I'm guessing Disney management wasn't from Imagineering, esp. since Chapek had forced Rhode into early retirement and gutted the department down to the studs. DVD might be great at sales and management but I don't think they have any clue when it comes to design choices. Reflections wasn't exactly outside-the-box creative either.

 

[aka Charles]

If the Resort monorail skips the TTC, how do monorail resort guests get to Epcot?

I wonder if the resort monorail stop at the TTC could be set up to only allow transfers to and from the Epcot monorail.
By not allowing access to and from TTC parking, it would make the resort monorail useful again.

The only drawback would be that Poly guests walking to the TTC for the Epcot Monorail would not have access from there as well.
Maybe they could set up some magicband readers at the TTC that would only allow monorail resort guests to gain access to the resort and Epcot monorails from there. Everyone else would have to take the MK monorail or the ferry.
......No, WDW would never do that.
.

 

[CarolynFH]

Another factor against restricting the Resort monorail to Resort guests only would be the necessity for Disney to place CMs at the Resort monorail to confirm that guests have ADRs at the monorail resorts before allowing them to board. Too many people want to eat at the TS and QS restaurants and visit the lounges in those resorts for it to be practical for Disney to restrict access to that monorail line (and lose that revenue).

I do believe that Disney will need to address the monorail issue from Poly and GF. It may be something as simple as leaving a few cars open during busy times.

I agree.

The monorail is way overdue for an upgrade, the track itself is over 50 years old and I think the trail cars are close to 30 years old.

And IIRC new cars aren’t available for Disney to buy? Not sure, but there are significant issues with the system.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Another factor against restricting the Resort monorail to Resort guests only would be the necessity for Disney to place CMs at the Resort monorail to confirm that guests have ADRs at the monorail resorts before allowing them to board. Too many people want to eat at the TS and QS restaurants and visit the lounges in those resorts for it to be practical for Disney to restrict access to that monorail line (and lose that revenue).

This is an important point—but also might actually increase crowding at resorts if they did it— for example, it might incrementally push people to book a dining reservation at the monorail resorts that they otherwise weren’t considering, and then those people might want to stick around on the beach, etc. after eating.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Do you have a picture of what you mean? I feel like you're talking about the concept art for the current tower that came out a few years ago. In which case, the current construction is nearly identical to the layout of that concept art. It's concrete blocking now, but it won't stay this way. The finishes will be very similar to the concept art...

Yes, @PolyRob shared this picture, which is what I was referring to (incorrectly) as the original concept art, which has a similar roof to the longhouses and a color scheme that is much more common throughout Hawaii and French Polynesia.

 

[DVCsloth]

Another factor against restricting the Resort monorail to Resort guests only would be the necessity for Disney to place CMs at the Resort monorail to confirm that guests have ADRs at the monorail resorts before allowing them to board. Too many people want to eat at the TS and QS restaurants and visit the lounges in those resorts for it to be practical for Disney to restrict access to that monorail line (and lose that revenue).


I agree.


And IIRC new cars aren’t available for Disney to buy? Not sure, but there are significant issues with the system.

Hope they do something because the monorail in my opinion is one of the major reasons these resorts are as popular as they are. Love the monorail and the Skyliner as well.

 

[peder]

Bicycles would be pretty cool. I’d love if Poly, VGF, BLT, BWV, and BCV had bicycles to drive to the nearby parks and we could pick up another to get back. Kind of the way cities have bike rentals. Even if it was only daylight hours and restricted to park paths only.

Doubt it will ever happen though. It is not ‘guest-proof’ enough. People would get themselves into predicaments and point the responsibility at WDW.

I've always assumed one reason they've been anti-trail is that it's difficult for them to keep them open safely. There's wildlife that needs to be managed, and having guests far from the parks on foot or on bike maybe opens the door for guests to be mugged. So they require a pretty substantial ongoing investment in security and wildlife mgmt staff.

But that investment becomes more manageable as the population grows.

I do wonder if all this concern about the transportation center is ultimately looking in the wrong direction. In the long run, will Disney continue to use the giant parking lots? If the mix of guests is mostly coming from hotels, wouldn't there be substantially fewer guests heading to the transportation center? So then even the land use of the parking lots might shift over time.

 

[CastAStone]

The original poll closed while I was on Disboards vacation but i would like to vote that it will NOT be its own association, and WILL be added to the existing association.

I believe that will be the case because I have a hunch.

Thank you for listening.

 

[CarolynFH]

If the mix of guests is mostly coming from hotels,

I've often read that the great majority of guests in the parks are not staying in Disney resorts. They come from offsite. I think that both the TTC/MK parking lot and the DHS lot have been expanded over the last number of years, and World Drive leading to MK and the monorail resorts was reconfigured/rebuilt (new overpass, etc.) in order to facilitate traffic flow to the TTC/MK parking lot vs. the resorts. When we were last there in January (2023) they were still working on the merge from the resorts and the exit from the MK/TTC lot onto World Drive (and it was much improved, too).

 

[CarolynFH]

I believe that will be the case because I have a hunch.

Many of us who have committed to one side or the other, or even have stated a percentage one way or the other, have explained our reasons. IMHO you are too analytical and informed to just "have a hunch."

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

The original poll closed while I was on Disboards vacation but i would like to vote that it will NOT be its own association, and WILL be added to the existing association.

I believe that will be the case because I have a hunch.

Thank you for listening.

If I knew for sure it was being combined I would definitely want to pick up Poly resale now…but I just barely convinced my husband to get 150 additional points at VGF last week…so maybe it’s for the best that I don’t know.

 

[CastAStone]

Many of us who have committed to one side or the other, or even have stated a percentage one way or the other, have explained our reasons. IMHO you are too analytical and informed to just "have a hunch."

Thank you. But I don’t have any brilliant insights here.

I think the new building’s points will sell better if they include access to the existing rooms than if they don’t.

I think that they’re no more or less committed to resale restrictions than they were 2 years ago when they did the same move with VGF

And I think that it’s going to be simpler logistically in the long run to work out the common costs (transportation, pool rental, security, etc) with a single association.

If you asked me to bet on it I would bet $20 but not $50. So that’s the level of sure that I am.

 

[KimMcGowan]

Yes, @PolyRob shared this picture, which is what I was referring to (incorrectly) as the original concept art, which has a similar roof to the longhouses and a color scheme that is much more common throughout Hawaii and French Polynesia.

View attachment 794393

I absolutely love this design. I can’t understand why they did not use it.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I wonder if they will start up the "Resort" only Monorails again, skipping the Transportation Center with the addition of the Poly Tower. Anyone who has been at Poly or VGF the past 5-10 years knows that you can barely get on a Monorail in the morning because it gets filled up at the Transportation Center.

Problem is the monorail is passed it's prime and inefficient but at the same time you can't get rid of it because we all love it and the nostalgia factor is basically at 100/100. Adding another line isn't really feasible unless you redid the whole system. I always thought they should have a train for every stop that moves in tandem. So one train is always at MK one at Contemporary one at TTC etc etc. They all load at the same time and leave at the same time and arrive at the same time at the next station. Even if there is a delay loading and unloading at one station at least there will always be a train there for you to get on right away. Who doesn't love the musty smell of the inside late on a hot rainy summer night.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

If you asked me to bet on it I would bet $20 but not $50. So that’s the level of sure that I am.

I would bet the same the other way but I think the majority of us at this point are just unsure because the case can be made in either direction. I'd probably bet more money on DVD not even having finalized the decision yet. And I'd bet even more money that someone in the higher ups read these boards for ideas!

 

[Spinster Travel]

The original poll closed while I was on Disboards vacation but i would like to vote that it will NOT be its own association, and WILL be added to the existing association.

I believe that will be the case because I have a hunch.

Thank you for listening.

The one thing that keeps me thinking that it COULD be the same association is the bungalows. I can't imagine them not wanting to take advantage of using those in a larger combined association and the ability to market them in the sales process. Naturally I want the association to be the same because I am a current POLY Resale owner sooooo

 

[CarolynFH]

The one thing that keeps me thinking that it COULD be the same association is the bungalows. I can't imagine them not wanting to take advantage of using those in a larger combined association and the ability to market them in the sales process. Naturally I want the association to be the same because I am a current POLY Resale owner sooooo

Well, I’ve read that they’ve used the ability to book AKV value studios when trying to sell points at other resorts, so I’m not sure that they wouldn’t use the bungalows as a marketing tool even if it is a new association! Besides, I’m pretty sure the bungalows are available at 7 months most of the time.