I hadn't thought of this angle; that's an astute observation. My wife will attempt to pick up a one-night reservation when the non-DVC owners' booking window opens as she wants to check it out. However, we've no interest in purchasing there given we prefer 1BRs and storage space.
You've proven my point -- people who say "I would never stay in a bungalow", "there are no 1bdrms", "the points are too high", "the price is to high", etc. then turn around and says "oh, but I want to book there as soon as it opens up". It's like badmouthing McDonald's or Walmart despite people frequenting both in droves. The reality is people will want to stay there, and if the studios sell out at 7-11 mos., they'll want to stay there even more, and be forced to buy Poly points to do so -- in which case you are best off buying now when the points remaining on contract are at their highest -- 52 years, price per point (which only goes up) is at it's lowest, and knowing resale won't be any cheaper than the prorated initial offering price (as VGF has proven).
Out of curiosity, have you stayed in a VGF studio yet? It's a similar setup in that it has a split bath, lacks much storage, and feels a bit crowded. We stayed there a few nights this past summer and loved the room and view (lagoon), but felt cramped the entire time.
I have not, and I've since reformed my opinion, which was admittedly an uninformed knee jerk reaction. I've since calculated the
bedroom sq. ft. of all DVC WDW Studios, and realized Poly is second to OKW in Studio
bedroom size (excluding bathroom/hallway. I think it just threw me off because it's a Queen sofa, two side tables, etc. -- e.g. more/bigger furniture than a typical Studio. I'll reserve final judgment until I see it in person. That said, I'm not a Studio person, so it may just be my frame of reference for my reaction was a 1bdrm.
Me, either! I do think they figure the die hard Polyers, Polyites, Polylovers will buy there, and that thinking may yet prove to be successful. However, similar to your thoughts, I don't feel as though this was an adequate conversion for our particular tastes, especially given the point totals needed and the buy-in price point. We will definitely take our chances in the future at attempting the occasional overnight stay there within the 7-month booking window.
At the end of the day, Poly will soon be the only WDW DVC resort actively sold and available, so I think it will continue to sell, and Studios will continue to be popular system wide as DVC member try to stretch their precious points. I don't think the decision to build all Studios was a bad one as a result. That said, it still feels like a decision that doesn't make anyone happy -- Disney is all about making Walt's dream accessible for everyone, which means options for everyone. Trying to force everyone into a one-size fits all (plus a Bungalow which fits the 1%), just isn't a very Disney-like decision. I hope Disney really thinks through the inevitable VWL conversion and makes options available to make them more accessible for all consumers. One idea would be to make variable length contracts -- e.g. have the option to buy 25 years contracts at 60% of the price of 50 year. Poly is actually a great value per point since it includes 52 years per point right now, but many folks don't want 52 years of points. I'll be 90 by then and doubtfully be coming to Disney as much as I am now. So despite the great
value it's a steep upfront cost, even if you sell the remaining points 30, 40 years down the road to recoup the investment.
will buy there, and that thinking may yet prove to be successful. However, similar to your thoughts, I don't feel as though this was an adequate conversion for our particular tastes, especially given the point totals needed and the buy-in price point. We will definitely take our chances in the future at attempting the occasional overnight stay there within the 7-month booking window.
Bill
