We spent last week in a preferred view studio. We had a 4th floor room overlooking Luna Park. However, our room had a 4-ft high solid wall on rather than an open railing. The only way we had a view of the pool was by standing at the railing--hardly suitable for people watching while sitting on the balcony. Only with a guaranteed boardwalk view would I go for a preferred view at the higher point cost compared to standard view. We bought a resale, closing in February, and so only preferred view was available at the time we made our ressie. We have a similar situation next January (standard view was sold out at 10 months), but our March ressie was made day-by-day at the 11-month window to get a standard view.
Ralph