To buy Poly or not to buy Poly

[Dean]

What's the likelihood of reallocation to studios? Is the idea that they'll lower the bungalow value? I thought those were doing well with rentals?

I'd put the chances of a reallocation lowering the bungalows as very high and the possibility of a reallocation, view adjustment to the studios as moderate to moderately high. The rental options will be less as the Poly nears sell out though now matter how well their renting wouldn't affect my thoughts.

 

[easyd]

I really hope they do a reallocation of studios vs bungalows... Will make my fixed week that much more a better buy!

If they do a division of studios, more then Lake and Standard, I wonder where the fixed weeks will end up? I have a fixed week Standard view, and kind of like the studio lottery of occasionally getting a freebie lake-ish view!

 

[Dean]

I really hope they do a reallocation of studios vs bungalows... Will make my fixed week that much more a better buy!

If they do a division of studios, more then Lake and Standard, I wonder where the fixed weeks will end up? I have a fixed week Standard view, and kind of like the studio lottery of occasionally getting a freebie lake-ish view!

If they reallocate view types they could change from 2 types to 3 or they could increase the number of standard and decrease the number of Lake View villas. With any of those options the standard view points would likely increase at least some of the time. You'll still have your standard view and your points, it'll only set you back if you use points at the Poly instead of taking your fixed Sunday to Sunday week. Remember that the fixed week will vary on the calendar due to following the standard timeshare calendar. From a view standpoint a rearrangement of views likely helps you if they move the questionable options to standard but hurts you if they change to 3 categories rather than 2.

 

[bisney]

Just returned from a week with the family (3 kids ages 6 and under, two adults in mid 30's) and am torn about DVC. I love the Poly and always dreamed of staying frequently at this particular resort. I also really like the Grand Floridian and would like at times to stay there. With three kids, the monorail is key for the next few years. Also really enjoy Animal Kingdom Villas and Villas at Wilderness Lodge. My family is fine for now in the studio and if need be we would consider two adjoining studios, so Poly should work. We of course would also like 1 BR at times at resorts other than Poly. At times we might also invite family to stay with us, so again adjoining studios might work at Poly or larger rooms elsewhere. Any advice on whether Poly direct purchase or resale makes more sense? Any views on a good number of initial points for our situation (visits every year or two)? Thanks in advance--this board is so useful.

My wife and I are in our early 30s with two children (5 and 2 years old) so I can definitely relate.

If you don't buy DVC, are you planning on making annual trips anyways? Because if you're not, DVC will likely lock you into rather expensive annual Disney vacations.

With our young children, I can't possibly predict what our vacation preferences will be 5 years from now let alone 30 years from now and for that reason, we bought a small contract at SSR to start as it had a lower price per point for the initial buy-in and has relatively stable maintenance fees. We're happy to stay there if we can't book elsewhere otherwise I wouldn't have purchased there. We prefer to try as many resorts as possible so it didn't make sense to me to buy more expensive points elsewhere.

I think that it's WAY too early to predict what Poly availability will be like once the resort is sold out in a few years. Some people think that availability won't be a big issue given the large number of studios (360) but my initial thought is that most people who buy at the Poly will use their points to stay at the Poly and also that they'll tend to book studios over bungalows which reduces studio availability. The Poly is my absolute favourite resort and I'm going to wait a few years to see if a home booking advantage is required... if so, then we might pick up a small resale add-on contract at the Poly.

If I were you, I'd look at buying a small contract at AKV or SSR to start. AKV's value accommodations are a great way to stretch points and you usually need the home resort advantage for the values. SSR is a good mix of the length of the contract (2054), buy in price, MFs and now with the standard booking category using points there doesn't hurt as much. BLT would also make sense for you given the proximity to the Magic Kingdom. The one-bedroom has two bathrooms which is nice and the price gap isn't THAT much more than SSR or AKV.

Best of luck!

 

[UpcommingBerry]

Well, after debating and writing about it on another thread recently, we decided to stick with buying a poly contract direct. First, we sat down and looked at the numbers. Clearly, buying a resale would be cheaper, but we took the cost of our upfront purchase divided by years left on the contracts. We also discussed what resort we would want to be "locked into" if we could only book at the 11 month. We came to the conclusion that we would be devestated if we could not get poly on a regular basis, and the cost we would save buying elsewhere and then stressing over or hoping for booking poly at 7 months was not worth it to us. The amount we will pay for 8 nights at poly right now ends up equaling about 1400 a year (which will of course slightly increase when annual dues go up). But, long story short, that sounded like what we would spend at a moderate, and poly is our favorite resort. We never want more than a studio and currently vacation with our 2 boys, but have traveled without them prior to having them and sometimes even take adult only trips to disney and plan to continue traveling there alone after the kids grow up. If we travel alone, a studio at poly will still be perfect. When our kids grow up and have families of their own, we can cross that bridge then - either add points, halo them buy dvc, rent when needed, etc. long story short, we would be happy always staying in a poly studio for the next 50 years, and would have been unhappy staying at most other locations, even in a larger space. So, poly it is for us!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

long story short, we would be happy always staying in a poly studio for the next 50 years, and would have been unhappy staying at most other locations, even in a larger space.

That makes Poly a good choice for you. You've considered the issues and find them non-issues.

It's the people buying who have been told "oh, you can book anything at 7 months!" who don't want to stay mostly at Poly, or mostly in studios, who really need to seriously consider if it's really that great a buy.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Well, after debating and writing about it on another thread recently, we decided to stick with buying a poly contract direct. First, we sat down and looked at the numbers. Clearly, buying a resale would be cheaper, but we took the cost of our upfront purchase divided by years left on the contracts. We also discussed what resort we would want to be "locked into" if we could only book at the 11 month. We came to the conclusion that we would be devestated if we could not get poly on a regular basis, and the cost we would save buying elsewhere and then stressing over or hoping for booking poly at 7 months was not worth it to us. The amount we will pay for 8 nights at poly right now ends up equaling about 1400 a year (which will of course slightly increase when annual dues go up). But, long story short, that sounded like what we would spend at a moderate, and poly is our favorite resort. We never want more than a studio and currently vacation with our 2 boys, but have traveled without them prior to having them and sometimes even take adult only trips to disney and plan to continue traveling there alone after the kids grow up. If we travel alone, a studio at poly will still be perfect. When our kids grow up and have families of their own, we can cross that bridge then - either add points, halo them buy dvc, rent when needed, etc. long story short, we would be happy always staying in a poly studio for the next 50 years, and would have been unhappy staying at most other locations, even in a larger space. So, poly it is for us!

Welcome home!