Just went to DVC presentation, thinking about purchasing at POLY, need newbie advice PLEASE

[Mmw37]

Glad you're taking a little more time before buying! If you love the Poly and usually stay there it may well be the best choice for your family, and when buying Poly it often makes sense to go the direct route through Disney. Still, it makes sense to understand everything thoroughly before making a big purchase.

I would suggest getting at least a few more than 74 points due to possible point reallocation as described above. At least 80-85, so you won't lose a whole night of your trip if they make a slight change to the seasons. They won't let you add on less than 25 later, so adding 5-10 now might be smart. How old are your kids now? Will their schools accommodate a Sept or Jan trip every year as they get older? If there's any chance you might have to travel in a costlier season, you might want to use that point cost as your target.

Enjoy your research, I thought it was fun!

 

[gdrj]

So, if our Use Year is Sept 2016, but we sign the contract on Feb. 2nd, we are given the 74 pts for Sept. of 2016 because we are purchasing in the 2016 Use Year because our 2017 Use year does not start until Sept. 2 of 2017 right?

So, like you said, not really getting anything for free, because we are purchasing in the current Use Year?

Which, we get that it was a sales tactic, we just need to decide if it is worth it to us to go ahead and sign this week or not. LOL

Good questions. One thing I would do after you look at posts. Call your advisor and speak to them as well about your concerns. I haven't looked at the promotions of late but if you are getting the current use year "free" There should not be any dues either. Best of luck

 

[jessicaerv]

FWIW, there's a 75 point, Sept UY Poly resale through one of the major brokers listed for $142/point. Worth looking at, OP.

 

[ziravan]

I am not sure about "use year" or what that means. He kept saying our points would renew every year in Sept. but then said our dues would be due Dec. 1st.

They didn't nudge us in any direction, we just knew we wanted the Poly and it looks like our only option is the Deluxe Studio, because we certainly can't afford a Bungalow. LOL

5 should be fine for the most part as we are not having any more children and there are 5 of us now. But, we could always get 2 Studios if need be (connected) and just pay the difference or borrow points from the next year since we will not be going every year.

If it hadn't already been mentioned, you wouldn't be able to borrow against the next year for a connecting studio because you are only buying enough points to stay every other year. The next year's points would only cover half a stay.

And that would be my biggest quibble - 74 points figuring that'll work for a 148 point trip every other year. DVC can reallocate points and the speculation here is that they WILL make studios 1-2 points more per night to bring down the cost of bungalows after they sell out.

If they did that and your 148 point trip costs 157 points in a few years, 74 points is going to be a problem.

Normal advice here is a 10% pad for what you need, for contingency. I'd definitely bump up to at least 80, if not 100 if you can afford it. You'll find ways to use extra points...

 

[Mrs.Milo]

Good luck with your decision whatever you decide. Lots of good advice here. I would just add that while you plan to stay at Poly, there are great choices should you or the kids decide they would like to try something different. The Beach Club with the SAB pool is great for kids, Boardwalk has the clown pool and entertainment kids love in the evening, and Bay Lake and Grand Floridian each have different vibe.

 

[ziravan]

Good luck with your decision whatever you decide. Lots of good advice here. I would just add that while you plan to stay at Poly, there are great choices should you or the kids decide they would like to try something different. The Beach Club with the SAB pool is great for kids, Boardwalk has the clown pool and entertainment kids love in the evening, and Bay Lake and Grand Floridian each have different vibe.

Another great reason not to lock yourself into only exactly enough points for just one option.

If you can at all afford it, think about more like 100 pts.

 

[Dean]

I too would wait but I would not buy exactly the points needed in this situation. IMO looking at a studio in Adventure season one needs at least a 10% cushion but likely better a 20% cushion. That way if they change the seasons on you or reallocate the points to raise the times you go, you won't be stuck. You might save a couple thousand $$$ buying resale but if you bought resale and added retail the savings are minimal looked at big picture.

 

[pbb322]

Hi there! I just bought a 100 point Poly contract this week after more than a year of considering it. (I am slightly disappointed I never got 12 extra FPs, I refused to waste time going to the presentation when I was there last Jan, I figured I would prefer to research on my own!) There is a lot to consider. As you have already figured out the first set of 74 points are not "free" but are the current use year points. They are currently putting new contracts into the Sept. UY. When we started these conversations a month or so ago, they were doing the Aug. UY. If you wait a bit longer, they will move to the next month. As has already been mentioned, the prices just went up, so they are not likely to increase again (another regret of mine that we didn't pull the trigger before that increase, but I wanted to be smart and wait until we had the complete cash in hand which happened after Jan 1). We considered resale, and heard lots of "save money and buy resale" suggestions, but at the end of the day we LOVE the Poly and wanted to be there most, and we always prefer to be on the monorail for lots of reasons - we never have a car, we hate waiting for buses, my husband often needs to run back to the hotel to handle some work issues and likes to get back and forth faster), and we will use the annual pass discount, so it made sense to us to just buy direct. For now, we generally only manage 3-4 night trips, but a couple each year. We will eventually buy additional points resale so when the kids are older we can rent 2 studios or maybe occasionally try another location or go on longer trips. Good luck with your decision - take your time and make sure you fully understand the pros and cons. If you are not planning to come back until Sept. 2018 you have plenty of time to decide, despite what the sales person tells you!!!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

They are currently putting new contracts into the Sept. UY. When we started these conversations a month or so ago, they were doing the Aug. UY. If you wait a bit longer, they will move to the next month. !

FYI - a buyer can always ask for any UY and should get one that will best fit their normal travel times in order to have a bit of free insurance against the possibility of last minute cancellations. If one doesn't ask then DVC will give them what they are currently selling.

 

[pbb322]

FYI - a buyer can always ask for any UY and should get one that will best fit their normal travel times in order to have a bit of free insurance against the possibility of last minute cancellations. If one doesn't ask then DVC will give them what they are currently selling.

Honestly, I had not thought of asking for a different UY when we made this decision on Friday since we go at different times of the year (Jan. in 2016, June in 2015, May in 2014, Feb. in 2013). But of course, we are now considering August for our first trip and worried that might be a bad idea if something happened and we had to cancel.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Honestly, I had not thought of asking for a different UY when we made this decision on Friday since we go at different times of the year (Jan. in 2016, June in 2015, May in 2014, Feb. in 2013). But of course, we are now considering August for our first trip and worried that might be a bad idea if something happened and we had to cancel.

That would be the worst scenario if you cancelled an Aug trip last minute with a Sept UY. It's not real great for June trips and is a bit marginal for if you were to cancel a May trip last minute although not the worst.

Now would be the time to get it changed, while you're still in the 10 day rescission period if your travel times are consistently going to be during these times. Your guide would cancel your contract and then draw up a new one for the new UY. Here's a thread on UY if you haven't seen it already. http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-april-27-2016.1942668/

 

[pbb322]

That would be the worst scenario if you cancelled an Aug trip last minute with a Sept UY. It's not real great for June trips and is a bit marginal for if you were to cancel a May trip last minute although not the worst.

Now would be the time to get it changed, while you're still in the 10 day rescission period if your travel times are consistently going to be during these times. Your guide would cancel your contract and then draw up a new one for the new UY. Here's a thread on UY if you haven't seen it already. http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-april-27-2016.1942668/

Sorry to hijack the thread, I am going to talk to my guide about it tomorrow, we have not signed the contract yet. We have never had to cancel a WDW vacation although we did just have to reschedule a Disney cruise in Dec. due to a family death, which is what suddenly makes me worried. We had insurance for that, but insurance won't get our points back on an Aug. reservation, and although we don't like Aug. we will go in the summer every few years.

 

[jo-jo]

For us, lack of use yr knowledge was a mistake. We have taken most of our trips in Nov/Dec. We have a Dec use year. We know we are taking a chance when we book those trips in Nov.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Sorry to hijack the thread, I am going to talk to my guide about it tomorrow, we have not signed the contract yet. We have never had to cancel a WDW vacation although we did just have to reschedule a Disney cruise in Dec. due to a family death, which is what suddenly makes me worried. We had insurance for that, but insurance won't get our points back on an Aug. reservation, and although we don't like Aug. we will go in the summer every few years.

There is insurance that DVC offers to sell but I believe it only covers the dues on the points so while it's something it really doesn't reimburse the full value. I've had to change 2 trips because of deaths in the family but because the trips were at the start of our UY's we were able to use all the points before they expired. Because of my experience I do recommend picking as good of a UY as possible.

 

[S.J.G.]

Here's what I will advise you to do...

Do not buy directly from Disney at first. Purchase 50 points via resale with your desired use year. Once you are approved and a DVC member via resale, go to Disney and buy an additional 25 points for that same use year so that you can receive all the perks that go along with being a DVC member.

You might have caught a deal with being offered 74 points because they traditionally don't go lower than 100 points on your initial buy in. 100 is a minimum. Occasionally they have been known to go as low as 50, so 74 is still good. Anyways, if you are already a member, even if it's through resale, you can buy a minimum of 25 points and still receive the benefits that would have been denied to you if you were only a member via resale.

If you decide to go resale, talk to the agent and ask plenty of questions. More often than not, they were cast members with DVC that have crossed over to the resale market. They know their stuff. Tell them what you plan to do and they will advise you of the best choice.

Definitely look into resale though because if you buy through Disney the price per point at Poly is $176. If you go resale you could cut that price to somewhere around $140 per point. In your case, you would save over $2,500 if you were to purchase all 74 via resale. If you did 50 points resale your purchase price would be $7,000. Then buy 25 points through Disney for $4,400. Save $1,624.

But let me be even more honest with you, if you book at that 7 month window, you shouldn't have a problem getting Poly. You can make your home resort somewhere like Animal Kingdom or Saratoga, or even Bay Lake Tower and save even more money. Go with Bay Lake and you could cut your price per point down to somewhere around $120 per point. Go with AKV or Saratoga and you could pay as little as $78 per point. The savings could be astronomical and the points you would be purchasing would be just as good as the ones from Poly. I will be up front and tell you that your deed would expire sooner through those resorts. AKV expires 2057. Saratoga 2054. Bay Lake 2060. That's compared to the deed expiration of 2066 for Poly. There are a lot of things to consider.

But please consider resale as a way to buy your way into DVC. Look at it this way, if you pay $78 per point at AKV, your deed would expire 9 years sooner than Poly but your purchase price for 50 points would be $3,900. If you need DVC member benefits, buy your additional 25 at Poly for $4,400. Your total purchase price for both contracts would be $8,300. Look into DVC member benefits and other perks you could lose buying via resale. If those discounts and perks are not important to you, purchase all 75 points via resale. If you did that, you could buy a resale contract of 75 points for $78 per point at AKV for a total of $5,850. That's a saving of $7,174.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

But let me be even more honest with you, if you book at that 7 month window, you shouldn't have a problem getting Poly.

Caveat: Except during fall. There is already a post on the Resorts board of someone who didn't book the first two weeks in December at Poly at 11 months and already cannot get it. Certain weeks will fill up before 7 months, and in fall, the 7 month booking is dependent on the speed of your computer at online booking open vs. the speed of others.

During DVC low season, Poly at 7 is not difficult.

 

[GeneralTso]

We just purchased and were able to pick our UY month based on when we typically travel to WDW.

 

[ELMC]

Here's what I will advise you to do...

Do not buy directly from Disney at first. Purchase 50 points via resale with your desired use year. Once you are approved and a DVC member via resale, go to Disney and buy an additional 25 points for that same use year so that you can receive all the perks that go along with being a DVC member.

You might have caught a deal with being offered 74 points because they traditionally don't go lower than 100 points on your initial buy in. 100 is a minimum. Occasionally they have been known to go as low as 50, so 74 is still good. Anyways, if you are already a member, even if it's through resale, you can buy a minimum of 25 points and still receive the benefits that would have been denied to you if you were only a member via resale.

If you decide to go resale, talk to the agent and ask plenty of questions. More often than not, they were cast members with DVC that have crossed over to the resale market. They know their stuff. Tell them what you plan to do and they will advise you of the best choice.

Definitely look into resale though because if you buy through Disney the price per point at Poly is $176. If you go resale you could cut that price to somewhere around $140 per point. In your case, you would save over $2,500 if you were to purchase all 74 via resale. If you did 50 points resale your purchase price would be $7,000. Then buy 25 points through Disney for $4,400. Save $1,624.

But let me be even more honest with you, if you book at that 7 month window, you shouldn't have a problem getting Poly. You can make your home resort somewhere like Animal Kingdom or Saratoga, or even Bay Lake Tower and save even more money. Go with Bay Lake and you could cut your price per point down to somewhere around $120 per point. Go with AKV or Saratoga and you could pay as little as $78 per point. The savings could be astronomical and the points you would be purchasing would be just as good as the ones from Poly. I will be up front and tell you that your deed would expire sooner through those resorts. AKV expires 2057. Saratoga 2054. Bay Lake 2060. That's compared to the deed expiration of 2066 for Poly. There are a lot of things to consider.

But please consider resale as a way to buy your way into DVC. Look at it this way, if you pay $78 per point at AKV, your deed would expire 9 years sooner than Poly but your purchase price for 50 points would be $3,900. If you need DVC member benefits, buy your additional 25 at Poly for $4,400. Your total purchase price for both contracts would be $8,300. Look into DVC member benefits and other perks you could lose buying via resale. If those discounts and perks are not important to you, purchase all 75 points via resale. If you did that, you could buy a resale contract of 75 points for $78 per point at AKV for a total of $5,850. That's a saving of $7,174.

Normally I like the strategy of buying a large amount of points resale and then 25 points direct for the benefit card. However, in this case, with such a small amount of points I'm not sure it's worth it. You provided a pretty detailed analysis here, but one thing you're missing is the fact that closing costs on such a small contract can range from $7-10 a point. That brings it pretty close to the territory where it's not worth the hassle.

 

[Dean]

Normally I like the strategy of buying a large amount of points resale and then 25 points direct for the benefit card. However, in this case, with such a small amount of points I'm not sure it's worth it. You provided a pretty detailed analysis here, but one thing you're missing is the fact that closing costs on such a small contract can range from $7-10 a point. That brings it pretty close to the territory where it's not worth the hassle.

A small amount total of say 75 or less is simply going to be more expensive no matter what. What's best depends on specifics. Maybe it's buy resale and forego the other savings, maybe it's just go retail depending on the home resorts or maybe it's just buy more points than 75 with a 25 retail. To keep things in perspective the savings is in large part directly related to the number of points so one question is whether buying at all makes sense for this small of an amount.

 

[wtrowbridge]

We were approached by a DVC rep. while staying at the Poly earlier this month, but we were in a hurry to make an ADR. I guess we should've gone.

Yep, the kids also got to go to LiLo's ClubHouse and they had a blast, so we will at least go listen to the presentation every time now. Totally worth it!