Trying to Decide on buying...Please offer input

[mickey0624]

So we've been going back and forth regarding DVC for YEARS. Just a little background...we go to WDW at LEAST once a year for 8 or 9 days. So you are going to ask, why in the world haven't you bought DVC yet, right? Well there are few things holding us back and I'm really hoping to get some opinions from seasoned veterans on both sides of the aisle...positive and negative.

First of all we have sat down with a DVC rep. twice. Once two years ago, once on our last Disney cruise (two weeks ago). We are VERY loyal to the Polynesian. As a child and an adult with my own now teenage children we have been to WDW 30+ times and only NOT stayed at the Poly twice. So once they opened DVC at the Poly you must be thinking, why didn't you buy? Well, here are a few things holding us back. Keep in mind, we really are only interested at the Poly. For us the hotel is a huge part of the vacation. They may seem small, but when we vacation in Disney it's the small things that we truly appreciate:

1. We went on a tour for the Deluxe Studio at the Poly. The size of the room seemed smaller and there is almost no storage room. On our cruise last week, the DVC rep told us there are two drawers under the bed and a place to store luggage under the bed and a closet. That's about it. We have four or five teenagers/adults in the room. (A bungalow is out of the question)

2. We will never use the kitchen or laundry. We don't cook or do laundry on our vacations, nor would we want to. Just our personal choice.

3. The DVC longhouses at the Poly are at the back of the resort. I know there's one longhouse near the quiet pool, but the others are far away from the GCH.

4. They don't clean the rooms daily, unless you pay for it. I know this may seem trivial, but we like a clean room when we return from the parks.

5. There are many discounts offered, such as AP or dining or merchandise, but according to the DVC rep none of that is guaranteed to stay that way. I know Disney probably wouldn't take that away but they have done some cash cutting things lately that surprised me, so you never know.

6. The annual dues. We figured we would need about 225 points for our stays per year. The annual dues for that amount right now are about $1500 a year x 50 years and that's only going to go up. Depending on increases that's an additional $75,000 - $100,000

7. We were told by the DVC rep that if we buy now, we would only have 48 years instead of 50, because the 50 years is from when they opened at the Poly. So basically we lose two years.

As you all know it's a huge investment. We have thought long and hard about this and just not sure if it's for us. Years ago before the Poly DVC opened a DVC rep told us if you only wanted to stay at the Poly then it's not worth it. For those of you who know more, please help. Even if you decided not to buy, please chime in. I need the help of people who've gone through it.

 

[aoconnor]

Well, let's do some basic back of the envelope math. If you buy today at $176/ point you get 48 years of points so that's $3.66/ point. 2018 dues are $6.20, so your effective cost per point in 2018 will be $9.87 ($3.66 + $6.20).

Standard studios range from 16 to 27 points per night for 95% of the year, so you're effectively paying $158 - $266 per night. This means you can probably get two studios for less than it would cost you for one regular hotel room.

Now, this ignores opportunity cost which many on this board think is irrelevant, but I don't. If you need 225 points that's $40k that you could invest elsewhere. Even if you just left it in a plain savings account at 1.5% that's basically adding $2.64/ point to your effective cost ($176 * 1.5%). So your $9.87/ point effective cost for 2018 is now $12.51, which translates to $200 - $338 per night. If you can invest it at 3% your cost per night shoots up to $242 - $409 per night.

It's up to you whether to consider this, but in any event, even $409 a night is a lot cheaper than a regular hotel room there.

The daily room cleaning is something I miss but it's worth it for me for the savings. I don't ever use the kitchens or laundry either. As you know, the studios only have one queen bed along with a foldout couch and a mini fold down bed under the TV (not big enough for an adult). It's not ideal for 4-5 adults, but one plus is the studios have two bathrooms.

 

[bwvBound]

It is perfectly OK to know your own wishes well enough to say, "This doesn't make sense for us. This product isn't a good fit for our style/needs/preferences." All good.

Thus, I will assume a starting position that DVC might not fit you. Were there any features of the product that you found attractive? Were there elements that drew you in ... in spite of the good arguments against?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Arguably, if one were to buy Poly DVC it would be best to only/mostly want to stay there. Other DVC resorts will be cheaper to buy if one was really going to "sleep around."

The expense you're looking at annually needs to be factored against the inflation for room prices each year. Poly's gone up quite a bit. There is no reason to believe it won't keep doing so.

I would also float out the statement that you mentioned "teenagers." They won't be traveling with you/sharing a room forever, and the end date of that is in view.

Resort end dates don't change, so if that's a reluctance, it will only get bigger as time passes. Poly's end date is what it is, end of story.

That said, if you like the flexibility of cash stays, the longhouses closer to GCH, the housekeeping, the ability to book less than 11 months out, the ability to cancel or change reservations easily... yeah. DVC won't be a fit.

 

[DduzDis]

Based on all of your points above, I would say it probably is not for you.

1. Not likely to improve. If this is a maker or breaker, probably not for you.
2. The CRO rooms may be better suited to your needs.
3. See point 1. I actually like being closer to the walkway to the TTC, but you know you likes and dislikes better than I.
4. See point 1.
5. Never buy DVC for the discounts/member benefits. While it can be a great deal at the time, they are not guaranteed. We bought resale and had to add 25 points direct from DVC because we otherwise would not have qualified for the member benefits such as the Gold AP. Even still these are subject to change at any time.
6. True.
7. Even at 48 years, that is still one of the longest in DVC. Someone will likely explain it better, but you didn't 'lose' 2 years since you didn't buy when the contract was first offered. We own at BLT that opened in 2009, I think. We did not 'lose' use of the resort per our contract because we did not own the contract during that time (we bought this year).

I would say based on your points above , it appears you are likely better off vacationing the way you are used to and not in the confines of DVC. I would go on to say congratulations for putting in the effort to do such great research for your needs.

 

[BillPA]

You sound like you know almost nothing about DVC. Learn more before you look into buying. This site is a great place to get info. Read the 'sticky posts' and ask question, don't go in uninformed.

 

[mickey0624]

So we've been going back and forth regarding DVC for YEARS. Just a little background...we go to WDW at LEAST once a year for 8 or 9 days. So you are going to ask, why in the world haven't you bought DVC yet, right? Well there are few things holding us back and I'm really hoping to get some opinions from seasoned veterans on both sides of the aisle...positive and negative.

First of all we have sat down with a DVC rep. twice. Once two years ago, once on our last Disney cruise (two weeks ago). We are VERY loyal to the Polynesian. As a child and an adult with my own now teenage children we have been to WDW 30+ times and only NOT stayed at the Poly twice. So once they opened DVC at the Poly you must be thinking, why didn't you buy? Well, here are a few things holding us back. Keep in mind, we really are only interested at the Poly. For us the hotel is a huge part of the vacation. They may seem small, but when we vacation in Disney it's the small things that we truly appreciate:

1. We went on a tour for the Deluxe Studio at the Poly. The size of the room seemed smaller and there is almost no storage room. On our cruise last week, the DVC rep told us there are two drawers under the bed and a place to store luggage under the bed and a closet. That's about it. We have four or five teenagers/adults in the room. (A bungalow is out of the question)

2. We will never use the kitchen or laundry. We don't cook or do laundry on our vacations, nor would we want to. Just our personal choice.

3. The DVC longhouses at the Poly are at the back of the resort. I know there's one longhouse near the quiet pool, but the others are far away from the GCH.

4. They don't clean the rooms daily, unless you pay for it. I know this may seem trivial, but we like a clean room when we return from the parks.

5. There are many discounts offered, such as AP or dining or merchandise, but according to the DVC rep none of that is guaranteed to stay that way. I know Disney probably wouldn't take that away but they have done some cash cutting things lately that surprised me, so you never know.

6. The annual dues. We figured we would need about 225 points for our stays per year. The annual dues for that amount right now are about $1500 a year x 50 years and that's only going to go up. Depending on increases that's an additional $75,000 - $100,000

7. We were told by the DVC rep that if we buy now, we would only have 48 years instead of 50, because the 50 years is from when they opened at the Poly. So basically we lose two years.

As you all know it's a huge investment. We have thought long and hard about this and just not sure if it's for us. Years ago before the Poly DVC opened a DVC rep told us if you only wanted to stay at the Poly then it's not worth it. For those of you who know more, please help. Even if you decided not to buy, please chime in. I need the help of people who've gone through it.

Thank you for your detailed response. Honestly I’m not as worried about the price as the other issues that I mentioned. Location and size.

 

[mickey0624]

You sound like you know almost nothing about DVC. Learn more before you look into buying. This site is a great place to get info. Read the 'sticky posts' and ask question, don't go in uninformed.

Seems like your getting defensive. This is the reason I’m posting and I have done a lot of research.

 

[mickey0624]

Based on all of your points above, I would say it probably is not for you.

1. Not likely to improve. If this is a maker or breaker, probably not for you.
2. The CRO rooms may be better suited to your needs.
3. See point 1. I actually like being closer to the walkway to the TTC, but you know you likes and dislikes better than I.
4. See point 1.
5. Never buy DVC for the discounts/member benefits. While it can be a great deal at the time, they are not guaranteed. We bought resale and had to add 25 points direct from DVC because we otherwise would not have qualified for the member benefits such as the Gold AP. Even still these are subject to change at any time.
6. True.
7. Even at 48 years, that is still one of the longest in DVC. Someone will likely explain it better, but you didn't 'lose' 2 years since you didn't buy when the contract was first offered. We own at BLT that opened in 2009, I think. We did not 'lose' use of the resort per our contract because we did not own the contract during that time (we bought this year).

I would say based on your points above , it appears you are likely better off vacationing the way you are used to and not in the confines of DVC. I would go on to say congratulations for putting in the effort to do such great research for your needs.

Thanks you for your response and feedback. I really appreciate it. The more I’m debating the more I’m thinking it may not be the right fit. Honestly the long term pay off is the only thing appealing to me.

 

[momto3pirates]

It really just depends on how you travel. Do you typically get one room or two? We bought in when we had to start getting 2 rooms instead of 1. The boys just got big enough to need more space and an extra bathroom. We always get 2 bedroom villas now. We also love having a kitchen. We cook breakfast and snack when we get back to the hotel. It saves us on dining in the parks. We utilize the washer/dryer too. We pack half the clothes we need and wash.

DVC is not for everyone. Do what works for your family.

 

[mickey0624]

Arguably, if one were to buy Poly DVC it would be best to only/mostly want to stay there. Other DVC resorts will be cheaper to buy if one was really going to "sleep around."

The expense you're looking at annually needs to be factored against the inflation for room prices each year. Poly's gone up quite a bit. There is no reason to believe it won't keep doing so.

I would also float out the statement that you mentioned "teenagers." They won't be traveling with you/sharing a room forever, and the end date of that is in view.

Resort end dates don't change, so if that's a reluctance, it will only get bigger as time passes. Poly's end date is what it is, end of story.

That said, if you like the flexibility of cash stays, the longhouses closer to GCH, the housekeeping, the ability to book less than 11 months out, the ability to cancel or change reservations easily... yeah. DVC won't be a fit.

Thank you so much for your detailed response. It is a huge help

 

[BillPA]

..

 

[kniquy]

We don't cook or do laundry on our vacations, nor would we want to. Just our personal choice.

Don't knock it until you have it -- you might want to use laundry so that you can pack lighter. For our upcoming trip we are doing a split - first 3 days at Poly, then 4 days in a 2BR at AKL then off to universal for 3 days - so with a 10 day trip we can easily pack for 4-5 days and do laundry once while we are AKL. Even when we travel and rent houses - we love to do laundry so that when we get home all we need to do is put our clothes away.

The kitchen is just nice for the full size kitchen to have a real fridge and space to store snacks etc. Just to be able to make a quick breakfast.

House keeping - certainly you could plan on paying for the added service, but honestly i don't hear too many people here complaining about not having this service - I don't think anyone here had this service at home so you deal with the day 4 trash and towel service and keep things tidy yourself. If you need extra towels - call and you can get them for a fee.

As for buying - it seems you are only considering poly direct. There are so many other resorts to choose from where you can have the space you need for your family in a 1 or 2 BR and lower buy in going resale. You mentioned the perks -- although not guaranteed they are nice to have access to. So the work around for this would be to buy a resale contract for a portion of your points and then buy a small direct contract. Many here will recommend this as a viable option.

The only thing you can really do is write down the numbers. What have you spent on your 8-9 days in a poly studio? If you plan to continue to stay at this resort then buying in will in they long term will save you money -- Maintenance fees increase, but the room costs through disney will increase too. If your kids are teenagers -- how much longer will they continue to travel with you? There really are so many factors.

Now, this ignores opportunity cost which many on this board think is irrelevant, but I don't. If you need 225 points that's $40k that you could invest elsewhere. Even if you just left it in a plain savings account at 1.5% that's basically adding $2.64/ point to your effective cost ($176 * 1.5%). So your $9.87/ point effective cost for 2018 is now $12.51, which translates to $200 - $338 per night. If you can invest it at 3% your cost per night shoots up to $242 - $409 per night.

This is always a mood point because chances are if you don't spend this money on a disney vacation you will spend it on some other vacation thus it would not be available as an investment- certainly not every dime that comes into your house is marked only for investment purposes. Proper financial planning allows for the various outlets where your money should go --immediate expenses, retirement savings, college savings, emergency fund, then the fun money - which can be your vacation fund with investments in fun, family enjoyment and memories -- can't really put a price on this.

It's up to you whether to consider this, but in any event, even $409 a night is a lot cheaper than a regular hotel room there.

Just to add on to this thought - We are spending 3 nights at poly and then moving over to AKL, but to cost out the 2 Poly standard studios through disney would be ~$2000 for each room (not considering any room discounts). DVC for us is a great savings because we are using our less expensive AKV points to stay at poly. Doing split stays or just booking 7 month at different resorts is a great way to use your membership and experience a variety of resorts.


Have you stayed in the DVC studios at Poly? If not then you probably should look into renting for your next trip see if your family can fit in those rooms. 4-5 "adults" in a poly studio for 8-9 nights does not sound enjoyable for me. For my upcoming trip we will be a party of 7 in 2 poly studios and aside from loving the resort - i do not see any enjoyment of being on top of each other -- and this is only for 3 nights.

 

[Steph01002]

We stayed on rented points before buying in. I would suggest renting to try before you buy (or don't buy).

 

[aoconnor]

This is always a mood point because chances are if you don't spend this money on a disney vacation you will spend it on some other vacation thus it would not be available as an investment- certainly not every dime that comes into your house is marked only for investment purposes. Proper financial planning allows for the various outlets where your money should go --immediate expenses, retirement savings, college savings, emergency fund, then the fun money - which can be your vacation fund with investments in fun, family enjoyment and memories -- can't really put a price on this.

I don’t think it’s moot because you’re comparing apples and oranges. On one hand you’re spending $40k to pre-pay for 48 years worth of hotel rooms where on the other hand you would have money set aside for maybe the next few years of trips which you would replenish over time.


Of course every household has cash set aside for immediate expenses including vacations, entertainment, and emergency funds. However I doubt many have $40k in cash specifically set aside for Disney hotel rooms for the next 48 years which is basically what you’re doing with a DVC puarchase.

 

[sndral]

...we go to WDW at LEAST once a year for 8 or 9 days...We are VERY loyal to the Polynesian. As a child and an adult with my own now teenage children we have been to WDW 30+ times and only NOT stayed at the Poly twice...

1...The size of the room seemed smaller and there is almost no storage room. On our cruise last week, the DVC rep told us there are two drawers under the bed and a place to store luggage under the bed and a closet. That's about it. We have four or five teenagers/adults in the room. (A bungalow is out of the question)...

3. The DVC longhouses at the Poly are at the back of the resort. I know there's one longhouse near the quiet pool, but the others are far away from the GCH.

4. They don't clean the rooms daily, unless you pay for it. I know this may seem trivial, but we like a clean room when we return from the parks...

6. The annual dues. We figured we would need about 225 points for our stays per year. The annual dues for that amount right now are about $1500 a year x 50 years and that's only going to go up. Depending on increases that's an additional $75,000 - $100,000

7. We were told by the DVC rep that if we buy now, we would only have 48 years instead of 50, because the 50 years is from when they opened at the Poly. So basically we lose two years...

1. The size of the villa is the same as the room it once was, but it seems smaller because the split bathroom stole space where the 2 beds + daybeds used to be.
3. If location matters and most of the Poly DVC studios are in the wrong place for you, don’t buy DVC to stay there, DVC runs near 100% booked and if you get assigned a villa in a section you don’t like you most likely will be stuck there as it’s far harder to get a change than it is w/ CRO rooms.
4. $35 a day for housekeeping is peanuts compared to the $400+ you’d pay for a Poly CRO room, it’s less than one Captain Cook’s meal for your family - if you like daily housekeeping, you can easily pay for it.
6. You should compare the buy in cost + annual dues (assuming dues go up 3-5% or so every year) to renting a room at the Poly all those years (assuming the room goes up 5% or more likely 10% per year) even w/out Disney’s inevitable annual increase in room costs - if you pay $400 per night for 8 nights for 50 years that’s $180,000 compared to your $75,000-100,000 for dues.
It sounds like DVC is not a good fit for you. I bought because I like 1 br.s and renting 2 deluxe rooms was getting to be pretty expensive. Poly doesn’t have 1 br.s so it was of no interest to me. Plus DVC was a way to reduce the costs of my WDW vacations going forward as room costs were escalating much faster than the inflation rate & my paycheck were.
W/ teenagers your vacation style will change in the future as they acquire partners and then when the grandchildren arrive you may find your Disney vacations need to be much different than they presently are. W/ most DVC resorts you can go from studio to 3 bedrooms via banking/borrowing pretty easily, but the Poly w/ the jump from studio to bungalow doesn’t offer the interim solutions the other DVC resorts have.
OP I think you just don’t want DVC, so it’s ok to say no. Stop going to the DVC sales presentations, tho’ to spare yourself any more angst about it. Maybe next trip rent some Poly DVC points and try it out - that way you’ll know for sure whether you like or dislike the Poly DVC studios, I stayed at the 3 DVC resorts I was considering before I bought and didn’t like one so didn’t buy there.

 

[kboo]

1. The size of the villa is the same as the room it once was, but it seems smaller because the split bathroom stole space where the 2 beds + daybeds used to be.
3. If location matters and most of the Poly DVC studios are in the wrong place for you, don’t buy DVC to stay there, DVC runs near 100% booked and if you get assigned a villa in a section you don’t like you most likely will be stuck there as it’s far harder to get a change than it is w/ CRO rooms.
4. $35 a day for housekeeping is peanuts compared to the $400+ you’d pay for a Poly CRO room, it’s less than one Captain Cook’s meal for your family - if you like daily housekeeping, you can easily pay for it.
6. You should compare the buy in cost + annual dues (assuming dues go up 3-5% or so every year) to renting a room at the Poly all those years (assuming the room goes up 5% or more likely 10% per year) even w/out Disney’s inevitable annual increase in room costs - if you pay $400 per night for 8 nights for 50 years that’s $180,000 compared to your $75,000-100,000 for dues.
It sounds like DVC is not a good fit for you. I bought because I like 1 br.s and renting 2 deluxe rooms was getting to be pretty expensive. Poly doesn’t have 1 br.s so it was of no interest to me. Plus DVC was a way to reduce the costs of my WDW vacations going forward as room costs were escalating much faster than the inflation rate & my paycheck were.
W/ teenagers your vacation style will change in the future as they acquire partners and then when the grandchildren arrive you may find your Disney vacations need to be much different than they presently are. W/ most DVC resorts you can go from studio to 3 bedrooms via banking/borrowing pretty easily, but the Poly w/ the jump from studio to bungalow doesn’t offer the interim solutions the other DVC resorts have.
OP I think you just don’t want DVC, so it’s ok to say no. Stop going to the DVC sales presentations, tho’ to spare yourself any more angst about it. Maybe next trip rent some Poly DVC points and try it out - that way you’ll know for sure whether you like or dislike the Poly DVC studios, I stayed at the 3 DVC resorts I was considering before I bought and didn’t like one so didn’t buy there.

Another (possibly) more cost effective route with teens is - after renting poly points, rent (cheaper) points for a DVC stay in a larger unit at a different resort and see if the additional space doesn't sway you. 4-5 adults in any single room is going to feel cramped, and no wonder you'd want daily housekeeping with that. OTOH, if you found something with more space, you might feel like you could bring less stuff (3-4 days of clothes and do laundry in villa) and there would be more room to spread out. But I also agree with EOE - it doesn't sound like buying Poly points is right for you.

 

[gwensgoofy]

Two things to consider:
1. I think you have REALLY considered your family's position in terms of likes/dislikes, and you are clearly Disney fans. I think it may be because deep down you realize that DVC isn't a good fit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can love Disney without needing to do DVC. However, given the fact that you are still considering it...
2. Rent points, and do a stay at a DVC. Frankly, I'd do a split stay. Force yourself out of the box, just try, if even for just two nights, a different DVC (BCV/BWV,AKV), then finish out the rest at Poly in the DVC. And be as honest in your assessment as you've been up to this point. And maybe you don't join DVC.
The only point I will add is that so much will change over the 48 years left. The kids will have years of not joining with you, and may come back with kids of their own. Or not, as they may have spouses/partners that HATE Disney. And if you have grandkids, those grandkids may love animals (hello AKV) or hate Disney (hello Hilton Head or Vero or Aulani).

 

[John-DVC]

Sounds like most of the DVC perks are not things that you want and the things that are missing such as housekeeping is what is important to you. With that in mind I cant see why DVC would be for you. You mentioned the monetary side here are my thoughts.

I dont think the 48 or 50 years of contract makes any difference when its that far out in time. I personally look at it this way. I bought Aulani at $80/point and I am confident we will get back a similar amount when I sell in 5 or 10 or 15 years (if i manage to keep it the whole term then its the best investment ill likely make lol). The initial cost though is essentially a loan that I am giving out interest free. The benefit is my room rentals are the cost of the maintenance fee which is pretty cheap 50% of renting points and 30% of renting hotel.

The big question then is do I have something better to put my initial investment money into that can get a good return? I didnt really have anything that would get me some big returns so it made alot of sense.

Family tends to be flexible on where to stay, we travel during off times and like 1 bedrooms so I think we can really stretch our points out Alot and stay at places like poly with high $/pt.

For Poly direct or resale its pretty pricey. Its hard to make a case for it from a financial standpoint imo.

 

[gharter]

As others have mentioned, doing your research before buying is critical. Also, looking at other properties in the resale market may make a difference as options. a 1 BR in different resorts vary greatly in size and ammenities.
Remember, things will change in a few years when your teens are gone to college. What you need now and need then may be different.
As you noted, if you love the POLY and don't want a studio, continuing to use the normal resort may be your best option.
We also didn't think we would care about the washer/dryer. Now we pack lighter and do a load of laundry whie we are gone at the parks and bring half od what we used to bring.

Good luck with your decision. It sounds like you are happy with what you are currently doing. The only questions really are whether you would be happier with DVC or if it would save you money down the line and only you can determine that.