1st time DVC purchase: Polynesian or Copper Creek

[VandVsmama]

DH & I are discussing a DVC purchase. Definitely leaning toward resale instead of buying direct. Having a blue card isn't enough of a big deal to us. I'm ready to purchase today, but DH still needs some convincing. We'd be targeting buying about 150 points.

We have 2 kids - both daughters, ages 13 and 15. Our only stay in a deluxe resort at WDW has been a 1 night stay at AKL 3 years ago (hotel, not DVC). DH has ruled out AKV because he feels the resort is too far away from everything. NOT interested in renting points at all due to the 'no cancelations, no refunds' restrictions.

I've done a fair amount of research so far. We'll be paying cash for a DVC purchase, not financing anything. We've mostly been DL people since we live in AZ and DL is closer and easier to get to than WDW. We love DL, but a DL trip is not exactly relaxing (we are turbo ride commandos at DL). At DL, we hardly ever stay on site & opt to stay at a motel on Harbor Blvd instead. And my DH needs some relaxing vacations. Our 2 WDW trips this year were great - just the right amount of adventure & relaxation.

I've ruled out the properties whose contracts expire in 2042. Am leaning toward Polynesian or Copper Creek at the moment. I don't think we'll end up going to WDW every year, probably every other year and maybe a trip to Aulani once in awhile in between.

We've been to WDW twice this year - once in January, just DH & I, staying at Pop Century, and then again in early June with our kids (also staying at Pop Century). Our WDW trips have been enjoyable for entirely different reasons than the reasons we love DL. Currently, DH is very conflicted about buying into any sort of time share.

Here's some of our combined criteria which have led me to consider Poly vs CCV:

1. needs to have at least 1 nice, relaxing bar/lounge so DH can have a cocktail & some appetizers, preferably with a nice view.
2. needs to be 'easy' to get to A park. Poly wins over this one because you could use the monorail to get to both MK and Epcot.
3. needs to FEEL relaxing when you're there. I prefer WL over Poly for this one. DH & I ate one afternoon at Geyser Point and we loved it, DH especially so. WL feels like you're a world away from everything. DH has a really hard time unplugging while he's on vacation. Pop, while fun, isn't relaxing like WL or Poly is.
4. pools - I think both are comparable for pools. We didn't spend a lot of time in the pools on our previous trips.
5. more than 1 restaurant on site - this is based on our Pop Century experience. After 2 days, DH got sick & tired of eating the same breakfast each morning. Between Poly & CCV, I think we'd go for the food options at WL a little more than at the Polynesian. Just having a microwave in the room would be a huge plus to expand breakfast options.
6. easy access to multiple other activities other than just going to theme parks every day - I think CCV wins this category for its proximity to Ft Wilderness (I think you can take a boat to Ft Wilderness from WL?). DH is interested in doing horseback riding (so is YDD!), canoe'ing, taking an archery class, plus he's very keen on renting a boat for an hour (available at Poly as well, I think).
7. Ease of booking a studio - Poly probably wins this category since it has such a larger quantity of studios compared to CCV.
8. we'd be able to stay in a deluxe resort for the cost of a moderate or less.

Things which are NOT a factor for us currently when we travel with the 4 of us:

• having >1 bathroom. Not an issue.
• kids having beds in a separate room from us

I'm also thinking of doing a trip at some point with my sister, who is NOT a Disney person like I am, but she loves the idea of going to Epcot during one of their festivals and making the trip all about eating lots of great food. She's said that she'd like to stay at AKL some day in a savannah room.

We thought momentarily about buying at Aulani. I mean, there's a pretty hefty price/point savings at Aulani to buy resale instead of buying direct. But:

• I'm not enough of a Hawaii vacation person in order to make Aulani our home resort.
• I like the option of booking there once in awhile if we want to, but not every time.
• From what I've seen, the DVC resorts in FL seem to hold their value more than the beach-side DVC resorts.
• Airfare from AZ to Hawaii is significantly more expensive than airfare from AZ to Orlando.

For any of you who purchased at Poly or CCV, what were the factors you considered in making your decision? What have you liked about staying there? What have you NOT liked about staying there as DVC owners?

 

[bsmcneil]

I love both of these places so much. From what you've written, I feel like it boils down to location - CCV is more remote and there's something really nice about that (and it seems to fit the criteria you've posted a lot). Poly is great but in my experience, it's so much more energetic and lively (which can be a pro and con - but given how I feel and what I'm interpreting from your post, I'd lean towards con in this situation).

 

[pinkxray]

Tough call!
You are definitely choosing between the most themed, relaxing resorts. They both have plenty of food options and both are close enough to other resorts to add on more choices.

The boat between FW, CR, and Copper Creek isn’t running yet but they do have a bus that will take you right to FW. I feel like WL is overall a bit more relaxing than Poly? Poly just seems busier and louder due to more people visiting the resort.

Poly has the monorail and boat to MK. It’s an easy walk to GF for more food options plus if you like to walk you can continue on to MK by foot. CR is just a quick ride away for more dining options.
Poly is also a quick walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail if that’s important to you.

Poly will be easier to book a studio. Copper Creek might be challenging if you ever decide to travel during fall frenzy.
However, if you like Copper Creek I would buy there and have the advance of booking there. You will have a better chance of booking Poly at 7m than Copper Creek so you hopefully try it once in awhile to switch things up.

Good luck with you decision! They are both beautiful resorts. You can’t really go wrong with either choice.

 

[MICKIMINI]

You have a good argument for both. Since you have teens, an adjoining room would work...at Poly. A couple downsides at Poly is the walking (bad weather) and you'll never have an 11 month priority for a larger villa. Trust me, the urge will come and you will LIKE it LOL!

CCV has low inventory of studios but lots of larger villas. Theming is off the top and totally relaxing. The boat ride is lovely! it's a MK resort without all the hub bub and another plus is lots less tourists wandering around...

We are at OKW as I write and had this conversation with our 33 yo son and 32 yo DIL yesterday. They love BCV and BWV but we use the 7 mo window (and didn't buy BC or BWV) as there is 20 years left. We have a studio for 6 nts and a 1 BR Standard for 7 nts in May at BWV so it can be done with some stalking.

We do own four 2042 OKW but bought cheap and don't care! We do have a blue card and a 2057 OKW.

We put our kids up at BLT in a 1 BR Lake View last Wed for two nights and got a chance to see it. It was gorgeous (and soon to be updated) and the view was private lake view with a castle view from the balcony. Their complaint was that the amenities were a mile away but loved the quick walk to MK.

Big decision and each resort has pluses and minuses. I'd recommend writing down your top five priorities and then write down the pros and cons at each resort and compare. It does seem to help to actually see on paper, the random ideas floating in your head!

Good luck!

 

[kenyoncad]

Our first contact was Poly which we recently sold to buy copper creek. My main issue with Poly is that the DVC rooms are so remote from the main building when you want to grab food / drinks, and we just loved the whole vibe of Wilderness lodge. Also as you mentioned CCV is like a whole different world, a few minutes away from Magic Kingdom. I try and run most mornings at Disney, and if you run Poly is much better as you can run from the transportation center all the way to the gate on the Magic Kingdom walkway, in CCV you are stuck with fairly short loops.
You really cant go wrong with either resort, and it seems like you have thought about all the pros and cons of each resort, so just go with your heart.

 

[DVCsloth]

I would choose CCV over Polynesian. The studios are quite a bit smaller though but you will have the option of a 1 br. especially if you go every other year with 150 points. It will be a lot easier to use CCV points to book Polynesian at months than the other way around. Both have boat transportation to MK, CCV bus is about a 5 minute trip. I like the Polynesian, just not a fan of studios only.

 

[Adg0428]

I ended up choosing poly. It it our favorite and our daughter loves it. However, from your post it seems that you may like CCV more

 

[kandlsutton]

For our family, getting enough sleep on comfortable beds is always an important factor. Poly now has the queen size murphy bed and that wins hands down over a sleeper sofa at CCV and it will likely be some time before CCV refurb gets the murphy. CCV studios are really small, especially for 2 adults and 2 teenagers. IMO, you should be comparing the 1BR at CCV vs. the DS at Poly - there’s over 100sf difference between studios. You said having 2 bathrooms isn’t an issue, but having 2 showers when 4 people are trying to get ready at the same time is a huge benefit for us.

So, IF you will always stay in a studio, Poly gets my vote. Studios at CCV can be very difficult to get, even at 11 months, and a lot of people walk their reservation to get their dates. If you may want bigger rooms, have to pick CCV but the 1BRs are the easiest accommodations to book at the 7 month window.

If you ever need to rent your points out, Poly seems to have higher demand since it does have monorail access to two parks.

We own at both though, so I couldn’t decide between the two either!

 

[RoseGold]

Buying CCV to book studios is setting yourself up to fail because there are so few studios. That said, there are some deals to be had on it now. I would be buying CCV right now just as sleep around points. You can always book Poly (or Boardwalk if you get lucky) with your CCV points. AKV savanna is surprisingly easy to book. I did it with a couple days notice twice. Poly has hundreds of standard studios. I got a waitlist to fill over marathon weekend there.

Poly is unmatched in location. The DVC rooms are right on the TTC parking ferry, which runs continuously, and right on the TTC to everywhere else.

Poly's lounge is lovely, and I think the view is great, but I don't think I would describe it as relaxing. I'm not sure I'd describe anywhere in WDW as relaxing, it's all covered in kids and booked months out! But it’s wonderful to come home to the Poly tiki torches and look over the water at the castle. That’s WDW to me.

To me, I needed the historical resale data for DVC to be convinced. I ran this math assuming a catastrophic loss in value (this happened in 2009, but didn't even happen in Covid), 9% sales commission, 1K closing, all high estimates. Even the WORST CASE SCENARIO was only out a little money. I bought all resale, and I like knowing I can unload all of it in weeks, make a little money, and it's not a burden to anyone. Resale DVC I don't view as that big of a commitment. Especially with no foreseeable new construction.

I bought VGF in the summer 2020 drop, the lowest sales price. Assuming they didn't finance, the sellers likely made a little money or broke even. That's buying the then-most expensive property ever direct and selling at the worst possible time in the middle of a pandemic a few years later.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/dvc-resale-average-sales-prices-for-september-2021/

 

[MICKIMINI]

Poly does have the gorgeous bungalows which we toured the other day - wowza it would be a great two night experience just for the private pool and deck.

We would move in and plan to stay until we moved out on the third day. however taking the ferry from MK we noticed you can see right in the bungalows and the whole point is the view LOL! Ferry horn will be obnoxious too...and there is the issue of a gazillion points per night so we talked our way right out of that option!

 

[RoseGold]

Ferry horn will be obnoxious too...and there is the issue of a gazillion points per night so we talked our way right out of that option!

I was just on lake view right by the ferry. The ferry was quieter than I remembered. I could have lived without the leaf blowing/pressure washing/construction materials moving at 9AM, especially after EMH and Boo Bash.

 

[stlrod]

I bought both at the same time (CCV200 and Poly50). I just sold Poly. I like the size of the studios at Poly and can't wait to stay in November to experience the refurb but the lack of any 1 or 2 BRs other than the Bungalow is bothersome. One thing to consider in your analysis is that the Poly actually has more restaurants than WL because of the close proximity to GF. The Poly point chart seems to have gotten higher. My recommendation would be CCV. It is my second favorite property (#1 is Riviera) but Geyser Point Bar and Grill is my absolute favorite spot at WDW. Take your husband there for a drink or two and have the paperwork with you and you'll be members before you leave!

 

[Best Aunt]

They both have plenty of food options and both are close enough to other resorts to add on more choices.

I have to disagree with this.

If you are at CCV, it is not fast and easy to get to another resort for food options.

If you want to eat at the Contemporary and have an ADR, you can drive if you have a car, or take Uber/Lyft.

If you have an ADR at Contemporary but no car and don't want to pay for Uber/Lyft, you have to take boat or bus from Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom, and then boat or monorail or walk from Magic Kingdom to Contemporary.

Last I heard, you could only eat at the Contemporary quick service place if you placed a mobile order, and you could only place a mobile order if you were staying at that hotel.

Even if Disney brings back the boat between Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary, that will only help if you have an ADR.

There might be more restaurant options at Grand Floridian and Poly, which are in the same general vicinity. But if you don't have a car, you have to pay for Uber/Lyft. Or you have to take boat or bus from Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom, and then take transportation to Grand Floridian or Poly. Or take the not-so-short walk from Magic Kingdom to Grand Floridian.

My stay at CCV without a car (and my desire for a cupcake during a thunderstorm when I didn't want the only option available at Wilderness Lodge) convinced me that I am a BCV/BWV person. CCV was a one-and-done for me. I like having more options within walking distance. But the earlier expiration date of the BCV/BWV contracts was not an issue for me, and I understand that it is an issue for OP.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I think you would be happy with either choice. I think I would lean toward CCV in your situation, because I do think it's more relaxing overall and it also has a variety of room sizes. The points charts for studios are also lower than for Poly, but you do need to know that they are harder to get. Take a look at the points charts for both resorts.

The other main reason I would lean toward CCV over Poly is that the home resort advantage is stronger at CCV than Poly. Poly is easier to get into at the 7-month mark than CCV; this is due to the having so many studios.

The flip side is that if you think you'll always stay in studios, I would buy at Poly. It's much easier to get a studio there than at CCV, and you can lock your trip down earlier than a possible gamble at the 7-month mark.

I do think your analysis is a good one, you seem to have hit the main points well. Poly is a better location for transportation than CCV (by a lot), but CCV is much more relaxing, in large part because it's not as easy to get to. Poly always has people on the beach and in the lobby, and a lot of them aren't staying there.

 

[VandVsmama]

So much great advice & feedback! I really appreciate it. You've given me a lot to think about! So I'm going to "think out loud" about all of that right now...haha!

• re: ease of getting to other monorail resorts - that's definitely a plus for the Polynesian. We haven't ever been interested yet in dining anywhere at the GF, though. Ate a couple of times at The Wave (of course, that's now Steakhouse 71).
• walking from Poly to GF - this is something we would likely never do. Just not interested in walking from Poly to MK and then from there to GF (or whatever the route is) in sweaty FL weather. We'd be more likely to use monorail transportation to get there instead.
• Poly being busier - kids & I noticed this when we went to Captain Cook's for dinner on our 1st WDW trip 3 yr ago. LOTS of activity in the lobby.
• re: not being able to get into Contemporary w/o ADR or mobile order - we did not encounter this problem on our trips in Jan & June of this year. We took both monorail from MK and bus from AK and were able to walk in to CR without being hassled at all.
• easier to book Poly studios @ 7 months than CCV studios - I thought about this, too!
• Poly bungalows vs Copper Creek cabins - would LOVE to stay in 1 of the CCV cabins some day, even if just for 1 night. Hot tub and your own fire pit right there? SIGN ME UP!
• queen sized murphy bed @ Poly - that's a definite plus. The kids slept on a murphy bed at Pop early this summer. That mattress was super comfortable.
• Poly DVC distance to ceremonial house - I hadn't thought of this. So I looked it up on a map. With stuff like this, I'm a visual person and need to see it in order to compare. And you guys are right...it's a bit of a hike. Then I look at the WL lodge map and from what I can tell, the CCV rooms are way closer to the middle of things than at Poly.

...for my DH, some of his key deciding factors will be:

1. room not super far away from 'everything' at the resort. We stayed once in ASMusic and were in THE farthest building from the main building. That was rough after 3 days. Especially since DH takes mid-afternoon breaks every day. DH hated that. At both of our Pop Century stays this year, we had a preferred room, which made getting drink refills a lot easier.
2. plenty of options of different places to eat - I think that Poly & CCV are probably about equal on this. Not interested in eating at Ohana.
3. feeling far away from things but also being pretty close - This is a tough one. This is something that we even struggled with a bit when buying a house. LOL! DH wanted to be in the country, but also close enough to be 5 min from a grocery store and 15 min from a movie theater. Um, ok? So you want to be far away, but also close to stuff? You can't have it both ways. I think that CCV wins over Poly on this one, though.

Hm...I'm really really leaning toward CCV over Poly. And I'm positive that once we stay in a 1 BR at CCV, my DH will prefer that over a studio.

 

[VandVsmama]

Ok, here's another thing I didn't consider...the Poly villas are a 5 min walk to the TTC! I had no clue about that. That makes it easy to get to GF, CR, or Epcot.



We could also do a split stay between CCV & Poly and then we'd be able to try out both for fun!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The location of Poly is almost perfect, but we opted to not buy there because it's basically a studio-only resort. We'd never plan to spend all those points on the bungalows. And even though today you feel comfortable only reserving a studio, that could easily change a few years from now. So CCV offers more room flexibility. Of course, there's always the option to get TWO studios if you need them! Good luck with your choice. They are both amazing.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Buy a small Poly and use it every other year. Buy a larger CCV. It's only money LOL!

Aside from the sarcasm, DVC is really a lifestyle. I applaud you for thinking it all through. Life is short and why not have it all? Just sayin!

 

[Sandisw]

I’d choose Poly because I love having the easy access to all of the MK resorts for food and drinks! Very easy to expand your options with a quick hop to the monorail.

You also have more room in a studio there than at CCV and as you said, very easy access to the monorail for trips to Epcot, if you don’t want the bus.

But, both options are good ones and CCV does have larger rooms that might be easier to get at 7 months.

I agree with others that getting CCV for a studio could end up being difficult, especially if you ever want to travel during the holidays. Very hard to get.

 

[RoseGold]

You can have it both ways. Use your CCV points to book poly this time. Or somewhere else entirely. That’s the beauty of DVC.