For DVC vets: How will sales of Poly "work"?

[holden]

Hello! I just mailed our closing docs yesterday to the title company (resale purchase), so we will officially be DVC members soon! I have a question about Poly sales...

As of right now, we intend to buy at Poly when it goes on sale.

How does this process work? Will I just call when I read that they are selling Poly?

Will it be like the day they announce the new cruise itineraries when I was on hold for forever? Or is there a different procedure?

Is there a "list" I should get my name on for people who are interested in Poly?

When they do offer Poly for sale, will they already have a points chart for the resort so we know how many points to buy?

As a current DVC member, are there any perks for adding on (discount on price, etc)?

Finally, can we buy any use year we want, or will they only offer specific UY? We have (or will soon have) an April UY.

Sorry for so many questions, but I am new to this. I realize that some questions might be unanswerable, but I'm interested in your past experiences with adding on at newly opened resorts (VGF, BLT, etc.).

Thanks!

 

[AquaDame]

Subbing because we are interested in this property as well... Tikiman said there were rumors that this property will not work as the others have in the past, which has me nervous for details.

 

[holden]

Subbing because we are interested in this property as well... Tikiman said there were rumors that this property will not work as the others have in the past, which has me nervous for details.

Yes, I read something about them offering "weeks" for purchase (as opposed to points). However, I also read that VGF offered "weeks" too in addition to points, so I'm not too worried.

 

[disneynutz]

Once your resale closes, you will be assigned a sales guide by Disney. That is who you contact to go on the Poly interest list. Current owners will be offered sales first, then the public.

If you have a April UY, you should stay with the same UY since it works well for your vacations. A different UY would be a separate member account.

I caution that you get your feet wet before diving in. You still have fairy dust in your eyes and buying before staying at all of the resorts can cause expensive mistakes.

We bought BLT before it opened and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

DVD will modify the Poly offering to maximize their profit. I expect that a fixed week option will be available on all properties going forward in addition to the regular point contracts.

Bill

 

[holden]

Once your resale closes, you will be assigned a sales guide by Disney. That is who you contact to go on the Poly interest list. Current owners will be offered sales first, then the public.

If you have a April UY, you should stay with the same UY since it works well for your vacations. A different UY would be a separate member account.

I caution that you get your feet wet before diving in. You still have fairy dust in your eyes and buying before staying at all of the resorts can cause expensive mistakes.

We bought BLT before it opened and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

DVD will modify the Poly offering to maximize their profit. I expect that a fixed week option will be available on all properties going forward in addition to the regular point contracts.

Bill

Thanks for your tips. I really appreciate it.

I think we have fairy dust in our eyes when it comes to the Poly because it is the resort I stayed at as a kid and we have stayed there several times with our kids. I just hope DVD does right by the Poly. I hate to see my favorite resort change, but I'm holding out hope that it will be wonderful!

 

[nalajms]

I'd also not buy all the points immediately. Using VGF as an example, I'm glad I only bought a small contract. It didn't take long for a resale contract to come up at less than member pricing. And it wasn't very hard to book there using non-VGF points last year.

 

[holden]

I'd also not buy all the points immediately. Using VGF as an example, I'm glad I only bought a small contract. It didn't take long for a resale contract to come up at less than member pricing. And it wasn't very hard to book there using non-VGF points last year.

Good advice. I'll have to restrain myself for a bit

 

[lions1995]

I would caution about jumping in first. They typically sell founders points in the beginning. I do not think these founders points get anything different than other points. I think you get a certificate. After the founder points are gone, they should start offering some deals on the points.

 

[wdrl]

I would caution about jumping in first. They typically sell founders points in the beginning. I do not think these founders points get anything different than other points. I think you get a certificate. After the founder points are gone, they should start offering some deals on the points.

This was probably DVD's marketing strategy with new resorts in years gone by, but things changed with the Villas at Grand Floridian. Sales for VGF started on May 23, 2013, and for the first month existing DVC members could buy VGF points at $145/point. Then, on June 23, 2013, DVC opened sales to non-members and the price for everyone was raised to $150/point. DVD has never offered any incentives or discounts on VGF; even Disney Cast Members are not getting any discounts if they buy VGF.

I suspect DVD will use the same marketing strategy for the DVC Poly. If so, the cheapest direct price for the DVC Poly should be during the first 30 days or so.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, DVD did not offer any special "Founders" incentive for the VGF owners who bought early. Aulani, BLT, and AKV owners who bought early got their names on tiles, nameplates, or tapestries, but I don't think VGF owners received any special recognition.

 

[drusba]

If you follow these boards you will know when Poly is about to go on sale before it actually goes on sale. Disney has to file with Florida authorities the resort declarations, a long document with multiple appendices, before it can begin any sales, and we have some members that keep tabs on those filings and report them here. In the past that document has shown up about a month or so before DVD announces the beginning of sales and provides the price and point charts. And DVD will provide point charts and initial annual dues when it announces sales and price.

If DVD follows the same pattern it has with the last three WDW resorts (likely), it will first offer sales to existing members at a supposed "discount" price that will then be a little higher when sales start with non-members about a month later. Moreover, those sales are likely to start before you can actually make any reservations. The first time anyone can make a reservation will likely be less than 7 months (and probably about four or five months) before the actual opening date. As a result, special one time only rules will be created for booking windows, with purchasers at the resort being able to make reservations for some period of time, such as month, before others can. At VGF, DVD also created a four month window for non-owners in that for stays during the period from October 2013, when the resort opened, through first part of January 2014 non-owners could reserve at no more than four months out.

Disney usually sells to you the use year you already have. When it starts selling points for Poly, that could result in your not having usable points until after the resort opens. Legally, the earliest possible use year it can sell is one that begins on or after the date it files the resort declarations. Moreover, the earliest possible use year also cannot begin a year or more before the resort actually opens and a risk-adverse seller won't even have it start that early because of the risk the opening of the resort could be delayed. With AKV, February 2008 was the earliest use year for an opening date in August 2008 (that was actually then moved up to June); for BLT, it was Feb 2010 for an August 2010 opening; and for VGF it was April 2013 for an Oct 2013 opening. In each of those cases the result was that if you had a late month use year such as Dec, your first allotment of points came in the Dec after the resort had already opened.

 

[tjkraz]

This was probably DVD's marketing strategy with new resorts in years gone by, but things changed with the Villas at Grand Floridian. Sales for VGF started on May 23, 2013, and for the first month existing DVC members could buy VGF points at $145/point. Then, on June 23, 2013, DVC opened sales to non-members and the price for everyone was raised to $150/point.

Same was true for Aulani--the initial price was the lowest offered.

Initial pricing for Aulani in July 2010 was $114 per point with discounts of $6-12 depending upon the size of the purchase. From the get-go they revealed the base price would rise to $120 in November 2010.

The first 600 buyers adding 160 or more points were granted "founding member" status.

(In June 2014, the base price for Aulani will reach $160 per point.)

 

[disneynutz]

Disney has had issues with the "founding member" program. Some bought as founding members and had trouble getting acknowledged.

The program at AKV took forever to happen, the founders tapestry that was to be prominently displayed in the lobby with the founders names became 2 robes in the library.

The fountain tiles at BLT rusted and had to be replaced.

Bill

 

[tjkraz]

I caution that you get your feet wet before diving in. You still have fairy dust in your eyes and buying before staying at all of the resorts can cause expensive mistakes.

We bought BLT before it opened and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

Didn't you subsequently buy Grand Floridian points before staying there, Bill?

I'd also not buy all the points immediately. Using VGF as an example, I'm glad I only bought a small contract. It didn't take long for a resale contract to come up at less than member pricing. And it wasn't very hard to book there using non-VGF points last year.

I have to disagree with this. Resale pricing is close enough to resale to negate any real advantage.

Currently the lowest-priced resale at TTS for VGF is $132 per point. And that's for a stripped contract with essentially nothing available until April 2015.

So you may save $13 per point off the original $145 price...but you've sacrificed the 2013 and 2014 points. And potential buyers of that contract are stuck with its Use Year and # of points, regardless of whether those factors meet their wants/needs.

If folks have a valid reason to wait...by all means don't rush into the purchase.

But waiting due to the hope of better pricing via resale is probably not going to work out. The price may go down a bit but you're also losing valuable points and sacrificing flexibility in the purchase.

Disney has had issues with the "founding member" program. Some bought as founding members and had trouble getting acknowledged.

The program at AKV took forever to happen, the founders tapestry that was to be prominently displayed in the lobby with the founders names became 2 robes in the library.

The fountain tiles at BLT rusted and had to be replaced.

Administrative problems are outliers. Most buyers had no problems being acknowledged.

There's no additional cost for the "founder" program. Don't see why anyone would stress over the possible recurrence of issues which were resolved 5 years ago.

 

[gfyjny]

The over water villas look really good already and the construction barely started I think. I would be interested in buying Poly also since getting one of those over water villas 7 months in advance would be near impossible.
We have the Aulani founding member tile at the resort and DVD was nice enough to send us a framed tile for us to keep. No regrets what so ever on buying all the points we needed direct. Only thing was since we bought it before the resort was opened, we didn't get the developer's point incentive.

 

[Sandisw]

It will be interesting by I am interested in possibly adding on some points there...we will see...I just love the atmosphere and could see, given that there will be studios and that is all DH and I need, staying a few nights here and there and having 50 points would allow us to do that...

 

[DebbieB]

It will be interesting by I am interested in possibly adding on some points there...we will see...I just love the atmosphere and could see, given that there will be studios and that is all DH and I need, staying a few nights here and there and having 50 points would allow us to do that...

It will be interesting to see if the "studios only" rumor comes true (plus the over water). I bought DVC specifically for the extra space of a 1 bedroom and the amenities, that's what turned my head. I don't think I would have bought if studios only, I would have just kept staying in hotel rooms and probably would not have gone as much. I just can't see them doing that, larger families would have to be split up unless they offer connecting studios.

 

[cheryl.UK]

but for us couples who only need a studio, its very very tempting .... way too tempting...

Especially when there isn't a DVC property we haven't liked.

 

[DrMomof3]

It will be interesting to see if the "studios only" rumor comes true (plus the over water). I bought DVC specifically for the extra space of a 1 bedroom and the amenities, that's what turned my head. I don't think I would have bought if studios only, I would have just kept staying in hotel rooms and probably would not have gone as much. I just can't see them doing that, larger families would have to be split up unless they offer connecting studios.

This is my concern, too. We finally bought at VGF last year but clearly 160 points isn't enough for our family of 5 (I usually run at least 1-2 runDisney events each year in addition to family vacation). I was thinking we would buy another bunch of points (number to be negotiated with the husband) when Poly went on sale. But then I heard the rumors that it'll mostly be studios. We love having a full kitchen. And we bought DVC because our family needs at least a 1 bedroom to be able to enjoy vacation (our children don't sleep particularly well if they are together in one room and my 2nd grade daughter has already announced that a family of 5 cannot possibly be expected to share ONE bathroom! Pray for me when she reaches adolescence.). Now I'm thinking that we'd be better off just buying more points at VGF so we can travel with extended family (we're staying in a 2 bedroom villa with grandparents for Marathon Weekend). We're not ready to buy more points yet anyway so I have some time to wait and see. (I also think about buying points at an Epcot resorts so we get 11 month booking in both locations. But we also really like Kidani. You see my problem.... )

Amanda

 

[gfyjny]

I remember reading something about the over water bungalows being a studio/ one bedroom suite combo, so it can be booked as studio lock out, one bedroom suite or two bedroom suite. I'm amount of points needed to book one of them would be outrageous. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it would be reasonable.